US airlines cancel 1,460 flights as travel woes increase

U.S. airlines canceled 1,460 flights on Day 2 of government-mandated flight cuts across the country and thousands of flights were delayed, causing mounting travel woes as air-traffic-controller absences spiked amid the federal government shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday reported major air traffic control staffing issues, impacting 37 airport towers and other centers and delaying flights in at least 12 major U.S. cities -- including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Some 6,000 flights were delayed on Saturday, down from Friday when 7,000 were delayed and 1,025 were canceled.

The FAA had instructed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights starting on Friday at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns.

The shutdown, which has now reached a record 39 days, has led to shortages of air traffic controllers who, like other federal employees, have not been paid for weeks.

Reductions in flights are mandated to rise to 6% on Tuesday and then hit 10% by November 14.

The air traffic absences prompted the FAA to impose ground delay programs at nine airports on Saturday, with delays averaging 282 minutes for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest U.S. airports.

The cuts, which began at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Friday, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

The four airlines canceled about the same number of flights on Saturday, under the FAA mandate but were forced to cancel additional flights due to air traffic control staffing issues..