More than 1,400 flights throughout the U.S. were canceled Sunday as the government shutdown dragged on.
The Federal Aviation Administration began canceling 4% of all flights on Friday and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday he expected that number to grow in the coming weeks if the shutdown continues.
“It’s only going to get worse,” he said on CNN. “I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle.”
The cuts so far have focused on 40 of the nation’s biggest airports, including LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports in the tri-state area.
More than 100 flights out of Newark, and nearly 100 flights into the New Jersey airport, had already been canceled before noon on Sunday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
LaGuardia saw more than 30 cancellations in and out, while Kennedy saw around 20 in each direction in the morning.
Elsewhere in the country, hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled at the nation’s two busiest airports, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta and O’Hare in Chicago. The Midwest was also expected to see up to 18 inches of snow in some areas, threatening to compound delays and cancellations in Chicago and Detroit.
Duffy previously warned cancellations would continue to add up as the shutdown progresses. The cuts will increase to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13 and 10% by Nov. 14, likely escalating further as Thanksgiving approaches.
“There are not going to be that many flights that fly (if) this thing doesn’t open back up,” Duffy told CNN.
