Travelers were the first to realize that the government shutdown

In some cases, the level of chaos was less than expected, but government officials have warned that flight cancellations are expected to increase in the next few days.

According to an emergency order issued by the Trump administration, airlines were forced to cut flights by 4% on Friday, then increase this to 6% by Tuesday, 8% by Thursday, and 10% by November 14. The administration said this number could rise to 20% if the shutdown continued.

Lauren Chavez read numerous horror stories on TikTok about long delays and cancellations at US airports due to the government shutdown, with people camping out in terminals for hours.

Out of an abundance of caution, 28-year-old Chavez arrived at Los Angeles International Airport six hours early with her fiancé and 4-year-old daughter to catch a 3:55 p.m. flight back to Albuquerque on Southwest.

But on Friday, as she sat cross-legged in busy Terminal 1 after spending a few days at Disneyland and California Adventure, everything was relatively calm.

With the exception of a few delays of 30 minutes to an hour, most flights were running on schedule.

"We were anticipating long TSA lines," Chavez said, her daughter sitting on her lap watching videos on her mother's phone, and people checking in for flights around them.

Since the government announced this week that airlines would have to reduce the number of flights to reduce risk during the government shutdown, travelers are bracing for major disruptions.

But Friday's flight reductions represented only a fraction of the total flights at the nation's largest airports. However, these are expected to increase over the next few days as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is cutting additional air travel to ease pressure on air traffic controllers, who are working without pay during the shutdown.

Airlines have canceled more than 1,000 flights nationwide over the next few days, and many airports experienced significant flight delays on Friday.

According to FlightAware, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was the hardest hit, with domestic flights delayed an average of four hours on Friday afternoon. According to the flight tracking website, more than 50 flights to and from Los Angeles International Airport were canceled and approximately 160 flights were delayed on Friday. The FAA announced Wednesday that it plans to reduce air traffic by 10% at 40 airports nationwide as the government shutdown enters its second month and staffing shortages worsen.

Officials urged passengers to check with airlines about the status of their flights and warned that flights could be canceled without notice.

This situation has angered and worried travelers. Some tried to postpone their travel plans to avoid the worst effects of the flight cuts, while others were looking for alternatives in case their flights were canceled.

On Friday morning, 65-year-old Ginger Campbell logged on to her phone and saw an update on the Southwest Airlines app about her flight to Chicago scheduled for 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

Nothing had changed. Her flight from LAX was still listed as "on time."

But Campbell, who is traveling to help her 81-year-old mother with a dental operation, is still worried that her flight could be canceled before Saturday morning. And even if her trip goes smoothly, the same situation could happen to her return flight scheduled for November 15th or her Thanksgiving plans.

Campbell said, "My whole family is going to Kansas City, so I don't know if we'll even be able to board that flight if the lockdown continues. I think we're being put under unnecessary pressure that we don't need."

Some people have already canceled their travel plans.

On Thursday night, Beverly Gillette decided to cancel her Saturday morning flight to Brooklyn, New York, after reading reports of overworked air traffic controllers, unpaid TSA employees, and staff shortages. She was worried there would be "government retaliation" against Los Angeles and JFK.

She said that visiting her daughter, who recently underwent minor surgery, wasn't an emergency. "I thought it would be a wise move, but I didn't want to do it."

Popescu, who was traveling from Los Angeles to Nashville for a band show, was a little worried she might get stuck in Music City.

Lisa James was worried that the government shutdown would cause chaos while she was completing a five-day trip to the Caribbean.

"It's upsetting and scary," said Lisa, 45, sitting on a bench with her matching pink hard-shell suitcase in Terminal 1.

Her Southwest flight to Chicago and her friend's Sun Country flight to Minnesota were delayed by about an hour.


The irony, she said, was that she didn’t even want to return home.