Miami International Airport photo
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Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will reduce flights at 40 major airports nationwide, including Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
The Trump administration will begin cutting flights by four percent on Friday before ramping up to ten percent next week. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the move is intended to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers during the staffing shortage resulting from the government shutdown.
“We are trying to lean into the fact that when we see pressures building in these 40 markets, we just can’t ignore it,” Bedford said at a press conference on Wednesday. “We are not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating.”
During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the delays and cancellations will be based on where air traffic controllers are not showing up to work.
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“Controllers are making decisions on their family and their income, and some of them are not coming to work,” Duffy said. “It’s a problem. I want them to come to work and do their jobs, but that’s the reality that I deal with, so you’ve seen a lot of delays and cancellations through the airspace. It changes every single day based on which controllers are coming to work and which ones are not.”
The FAA has not ruled out cutting additional flights if the shutdown and staffing issues persist.
“If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures,” Bedford added.
In an emailed statement to New Times, Greg Chin, communications director for the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department, said that it’s too early to determine how the flight reductions will impact MIA.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in regular communication with the FAA, our airline partners, and federal agencies to assess any potential operational effects. MIA’s operations remain normal, with our focus on maintaining safe, efficient, and reliable service for all passengers and partners,” Chin said.
In an emailed statement to New Times, FLL reported 20 cancelled flights (nine arrivals and 11 departures) as of 1 p.m. Friday, with impacted destinations including John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The FLL spokesperson noted that they expect 32 delays flying to and from FLL (15 arrivals and 17 departures), including both domestic and international destinations like Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Rafael Núñez International Airport in Cartagena, Colombia.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also issued a statement regarding the cancellations, noting the repercussions on “our region’s economy, connectivity, and workforce.”
“Miami-Dade will remain open for business, open for travel, and open for opportunity. But we also insist that any regulatory decision of this magnitude be accompanied by full accountability, clear timing, and measurable impact mitigation,” Levine Cava said in the statement. “Now more than ever, we need the White House and Congressional leaders to achieve bipartisan decisions to ensure we avoid further disruptions to our community and reopen our federal government.”
Meanwhile, multiple airlines have issued statements regarding refunds and potential flight disruptions.
American
American said the majority of its customers’ travel will not be affected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled. If flights are changed, the airline will contact the affected customers.
“To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund without any penalty,” the airline said in a press release.
Delta
Delta also expects its flights, including all long-haul international travel, to operate as scheduled. The airline is allowing all customers, including those flying basic economy, to change, cancel, or receive a refund for their flights without penalty.
“We will work to give customers as much notice as possible about any changes to their flights and apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause,” the company said.
JetBlue
In most cases, JetBlue will automatically rebook customers on the next available flight if their flight is affected, the company announced Thursday.
“If your flight is cancelled and you decide not to travel, you can request a full refund,” the airline added.
United
In its press release, United CEO Scott Kirby said long-haul international and hub-to-hub flights will not be impacted. The company will instead focus its reductions on regional and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between its hubs. Kirby added that it will still offer around 4,000 flights per day.
“And importantly, any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly, even if their flight isn’t impacted,” the press release states. “That includes non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economic tickets.”
Southwest
Southwest said that it would automatically rebook canceled flights in most cases, though customers whose flights have been canceled are eligible for a refund if they would rather not travel.
Frontier
Frontier expects its flights to operate as planned. Customers whose flights are canceled or are delayed by more than three hours (domestic flights) or six hours (international flights) may rebook or request a refund.
Spirit
The airline said on social media that it expects its flights to operate as normal.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and we will work to minimize any impacts to our guests,” the airline wrote on X. “Guests with affected travel plans will be notified about their options, including a refund.”
