Beginning this Friday, airports across the nation will implement a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order to cut down on flights due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is set to affect millions of travelers.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on Wednesday that flight capacity will be decreased at 40 of the country’s busiest airports. This includes major hubs such as New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Boston’s Logan International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Denver International Airport. The initial reduction will be 4 percent starting Friday, with plans to increase this to 10 percent by November 14, as outlined in a Thursday news release from the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Bedford emphasized that these measures are intended to maintain traveler safety. The FAA stated that it will slow traffic at select airports to ensure safe operations amid “increased staffing shortages.”

An estimated 1,800 flights and approximately 268,000 passenger seats could be affected, according to a report by The Associated Press, which cited data from aviation analytics company Cirium.

Airlines, including American Airlines, will also feel the impact, with planned reductions in their flight schedules by 4 percent at the affected airports on Friday and Saturday. This decision will lead to the cancellation of about 220 flights per day, as per a statement acquired by NewsNation, an affiliate of The Hill.

“Even with these cancellations, we plan to operate around 6,000 daily flights. We are continuing to communicate with impacted customers,” the airline stated. “Disrupting customers’ plans is the last thing we want to do, and we have issued a travel waiver.”

The airline praised federal aviation employees working without pay, but said it was unacceptable.

“We, once again, urge leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown,” the airline added.

Southwest Airlines is evaluating how the FAA directive will impact its flights. Delta Air Lines intends to operate most flights “as planned, including all long-haul international service, and our teams are working hard to minimize any impact on your travel while keeping safety our top priority,” the airline said in a statement. United Airlines, meanwhile, stated that its flights “have been adjusted.”

“If your flight is impacted, you will be automatically rebooked on a different flight and notified via the United app, https://united.com or a text,” United stated. “If you’d like to change that flight, you can do that on the United app or https://united.com.”

Delta said long-haul international flights should not be impacted. United will continue to have long-haul international flights operate across seven airports, including Newark Liberty Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C., area.

Travelers can also contact customer service representatives with their airline via phone, email or directly to the airline’s account on the social platform X. Those with canceled or delayed flights can still request a refund under protections in place by the DOT, which remain in effect amidst the shutdown.

American, Delta and United will offer refunds for passengers who choose not to fly, while Southwest said it will offer refunds through Wednesday.

Additionally, travelers can keep track of their flight statuses online or through third-party websites and apps, including FlightAware, or by checking the FAA’s National Airspace System Status.

Travelers should also have a back-up plan, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said.

“If you are headed to a wedding, funeral or something you must be somewhere for in the next few days—given the risk of flights cancelling I would suggest passengers buy a backup ticket on another carrier that departs after the first ticket,” Biffle said in an Instagram post. “That way if your flight cancels you have an immediate backup.”