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Amid the historic federal government closure approaches day 38, US flight paths is about to get somewhat quieter. Contrastingly for US airports.

Safety Measures Enacted

The federal air traffic agency stated air travel is being curtailed to maintain air traffic control safety during the federal government closure, currently the lengthiest in history and with little indication of a solution between GOP lawmakers and Democratic representatives to end the federal budget impasse.

Airline regulators identified “congested corridors” where the FAA says air traffic needs cutting by 4% by 6 a.m. Eastern on Friday, a move that would force airlines to call off thousands of journeys and cause a chain reaction of scheduling issues and hold-ups at some of the nation’s largest airports.

Administration Remarks

The administration's transportation head, Sean Duffy, wrote on X Thursday that the move was “unrelated to political motives” but rather “involving evaluation the data and mitigating accumulating danger in the system as controllers continue working without pay”.

“Flying is safe today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking,” the official remarked.

Flight Cancellations

Analysts forecast hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. The flight decreases could represent as many as 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 seats collectively, per an calculation by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Affected Airports

The involved terminals including over 25 states include the busiest ones across the US – such as Georgia's capital, CLT, DEN, Dallas/Fort Worth, Florida destination, LAX, Miami and Bay Area airport. In some of the biggest cities – like NYC, Houston and Illinois hub – multiple airports will be involved.

The trio of airports serving the Washington DC area – Washington Dulles international, Baltimore/Washington international and Ronald Reagan Washington national – will be affected, inevitably causing flight disruptions for government officials as well as additional passengers.

Additional Developments

• This is the roster of domestic airports reducing air travel on Friday due to federal government shutdown.
• An ex-DOJ worker who tossed food at a federal officer during Donald Trump’s law enforcement presence in Washington DC received a not guilty verdict of assault by a DC jury on Thursday in the latest legal rejection of the federal involvement.
• Certain Democratic lawmakers saw Tuesday’s big electoral wins as indication they should stand firm and extract as much as possible from conservative lawmakers before consenting to conclude the longest government shutdown in history.
• Democrats praised Nancy Pelosi as a “courageous, pioneering” member of the US House of Representatives, an “icon” and the “finest presiding officer in American history”, following her declaration that following two decades in Congress she plans to retire.
• The conservative leader, the director of the political research group behind the conservative initiative, has apologized for supporting the commentator's interview with Hitler fan Nick Fuentes, but is declining demands to resign.