Of the 19,700 airports in the United States, 483 are international. Of these, 40 of the busiest international airports have been affected by flight cuts.
What you should know
In the United States, the government shutdown has affected everything from airports to grocery stores, as federal employees have not received their salaries.
The 40-day shutdown in the United States, the world's richest country, has had an economic impact on everything from large and small airports to grocery stores.
The shutdown has also hit small businesses, as employee salaries and government benefits have been affected. More than 1.4 million federal employees have not received their salaries since the shutdown. As a result, more than half of the employees have stopped working, the airports have been hit the hardest.
Domestic flights have also been cut as airport employees have reduced their duty hours. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that flights have been cut due to problems in air traffic control after airport security personnel and air traffic controllers (ATCs) under the federal government protested by reducing their work hours due to unpaid wages.
According to the FAA, 10 percent of domestic flights have been cut at the 40 busiest regional and international airports. ‘The pressure on airports has increased due to flight cuts,’ the American media outlet CNN has mentioned, ‘Passengers have not been able to travel on their flight schedules, flight fees have become expensive. If this situation continues for a long time, the economic situation could become very disastrous.’
The FAA claims that flight cuts will continue to increase if the shortfall continues and the number of employees who stop working due to unpaid wages increases. Flights have been cut at 40 international airports, including Hartsfield Jackson, Atlanta, Dallas Fort Worth, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dulles, JFK, Boston Logan, Charlotte Douglas, Ronald Reagan, Honolulu, Tampa, Trenton, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Louisville, San Diego, Phoenix Sky Harbor. These are the busiest airports in the world.
There are 483 international airports in the United States out of 19,700 airports. Of these, 40 of the busiest international airports have been affected by flight cuts.
CNN reported that the shutdown has affected small grocery stores more than large industries. Sales at grocery stores have continued to decline due to the suspension of federal government benefits and the provision of government-provided food.
The US government provides food stamps to families with weak financial conditions, low incomes, and unemployment. They use these food stamps to buy food and fruits. However, due to the shutdown, the government has not provided funds for food stamps, and sales at grocery stores have decreased.
More than 30 percent of families in the US have been receiving food stamps from the government. Lisa Morales, a nurse working at a military office in El Paso, Texas, has complained that she has not been able to pay her rent for October and November. She spoke to CNN and lamented that the government has not provided her salary and has not been able to pay her rent or even arrange for food.
She said she has been worried about how she will pay her car and insurance payments, gas, groceries, dog food and utility bills since November. “We don’t qualify for unemployment because we qualify with educational experience. We are protesting at the office because we are not getting paid,” Lisa said.
