See Where Flights Have Been Canceled Across the U.S.

By Marco Hernandez, Zach Levitt, Lazaro Gamio, Niraj Chokshi, Jacqueline Gu and Elena Shao

Flight cancellations on Wednesday

Circles are sized by the number of canceled flights. Lines are the routes of flights that were canceled.

Note: International routes and airports are not shown. Cancellations at individual airports include flights that were planned to depart or arrive. Data is as of 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. Source: Cirium. The New York Times

Travel uncertainty extended into its sixth day on Wednesday as hundreds more flights were canceled across the United States.

The cuts were mainly the result of flight restrictions put in place on Friday at dozens of busy airports by the Federal Aviation Administration, which said the limits were necessary to ease pressure on air traffic controllers. Many controllers have been calling in sick and working second jobs because they have not been paid during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

By the end of the weekend, about 5,000 flights in the United States had been canceled, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm. Over 2,000 more were canceled on Monday, and cuts have continued since.

Flight cancellations at 40 airports across the U.S.

Note: Data is as of 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. Source: Cirium. The New York Times

Despite the possible end to the shutdown, airlines have been bracing for further uncertainty this week. The flight restrictions are scheduled to rise to 10 percent on Friday, bringing home the effects of the government shutdown to many more Americans. Even if the shutdown soon comes to an end, that will not immediately fix the problems caused by the widespread disruptions to air travel.

Share of flights canceled, by airport

Note: Cancellations at airports include flights that were planned to depart or arrive. Data is as of 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. The New York Times

The reduction in traffic at 40 airports comes weeks before the busy holiday travel season begins in the United States. The airports that have already been affected range from large hubs to smaller destinations. They are in blue states and red states, spread across the country.

Here is a look at how cuts at affected airports on Wednesday compare to cancellations at those hubs in the days since the restrictions were imposed, as well as at this time last year:

How canceled flights compare

Share of canceled flights on Wednesday, compared with the average on earlier days since cuts were announced and the average in Nov. 2024

Note: Cancellations at airports include flights that were planned departures or arrivals. Data is as of 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. Sources: Cirium (Nov. 2025) and Federal Aviation Administration (Nov. 2024). The New York Times