United States airlines have scaled back flights as the US government shutdown, now the longest in the country’s history, continues into the weekend.US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Friday that airlines might have to reduce flights by up to 20 percent if the shutdown continues.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThis is much higher than a directive on Wednesday when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called on all airlines to reduce their schedules by 4 percent to address safety concerns amid limited staffing during the shutdown. The FAA said at the time the cuts will increase to 10 percent by next Friday if the shutdown has not ended by then.“We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace,” Duffy told reporters on Friday.The reductions are straining travel through 40 of the country’s busiest airports, including Atlanta, Washington, Houston and Denver.The cuts began on flights scheduled for 6am US Eastern Time (11:00 GMT) on Friday and included 700 cuts across the four largest US airlines – Delta, American, Southwest and United.However, the FAA has provided limited guidance on how the directive applies to private and charter flights.The FAA’s guidance states that “general aviation operations may also be reduced by up to 10 percent at High Impact Airports, including TEB [Teterboro airport in New Jersey], HOU [Houston’s Hobby airport], and DAL [Dallas Love Field]”.But beyond that, it remains unclear which “general aviation” flights – a category that includes private jet trave …
