Airports across the United States, including major hubs in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, are bracing for significant flight reductions starting Friday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated a 10 percent reduction in air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. This directive affects key transit points such as Hawaii and Dallas, which are crucial for Australians traveling to North America.

As the deadline approaches, airlines are urgently determining which flights to cut, leaving travelers on edge as they await confirmation on whether their flights will proceed as planned.

This reduction is expected to affect thousands of flights across the country, given that the FAA manages over 44,000 flights daily, which includes commercial passenger services, cargo shipments, and private aircraft.

Currently, Qantas flights to the U.S. remain unaffected; however, the airline is closely monitoring the situation on a daily basis to respond to any changes.

Some airlines planned to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-sized cities.

“This is going to have a noticeable impact across the US air transportation system,” industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said.

The FAA said on Wednesday it would reduce air traffic by 10 per cent across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown.

The affected airports include busy connecting hubs and those in popular tourist destinations, including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities – such as New York, Houston and Chicago – multiple airports will be affected.

Controllers already have missed one full paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as the shutdown drags on.

The FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.

Even if the government reopens on the weekend, travellers should expect there to be residual impacts from the shutdown as the US public holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, and even in to Christmas, according to the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Nick Daniels.

“It will take us months to come out of all the impacts that it’s causing … There were delays before the shutdown. There’s obviously delays during the shutdown. There’s going to be delays after the shutdown,” he said.