DOT just confirmed: Starting this Friday at 00:01 ET, the FAA will force every airline to cut 10 % of scheduled flights at the 40 busiest U.S. airports or the agency will do it for them.This is the first nationwide mandatory capacity slash since the 2019 shutdown. It’s triggered by the 35-day government shutdown leaving 13,000 controllers and 50,000 TSA officers unpaid → 80 % call-outs in New York yesterday → “unsafe skies” red line. 1. The 40 Airports Getting Hit (full list)Tier 1 (20 % cut) – NYC, DC, BOS, ORD, SFO JFK, LGA, EWR, DCA, BOS, ORD, MDW, SFO, PHL, IAD Tier 2 (10 % cut) – the rest ATL, DFW, DEN, LAX, LAS, PHX, MCO, MIA, CLT, SEA, DTW, MSP, IAH, SLC, SAN, FLL, BWI, TPA, HNL, SAN, PDX, STL, BNA, AUS, DAL, HOU, MKE, CLE, CMH, IND, PIT, CVG, RDU, SAT