WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Friday that US flights could be reduced by as much as 20% if the ongoing government shutdown continues, with an initial 10% cut set to take effect next week.

“We are going to implement a 10% reduction in flights over the course of the next week. And again, that is from the data that we see from our safety team at the FAA,” Duffy told Fox News.

He cited staffing shortages as a major cause of flight delays, noting that many air traffic controllers are calling in sick due to not being paid.

“They’re being forced to take secondary jobs again, whether it’s waiting tables or driving Uber instead of coming to towers and doing their day jobs,” he said.

Duffy cautioned that if the shutdown persists, flight reductions could rise further.

“If this shutdown doesn’t end relatively soon, the consequence of that is going to be more controllers not coming to work. And then we’re going to have to continue to assess the pressure in the airspace and make decisions that may move us from 10% to 15%, maybe to 20%,” he said.

Urging lawmakers to act, Duffy called on Congress to “end the shutdown” and “not hold the American people and air travelers hostage.”

He also noted that even if the government reopens soon, it could take several days for flight operations to return to normal. “It can be days, if not a week, before we get back to full force flights when the shutdown ends,” he added.

The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has left federal employees — including air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers — working without pay.

Now in its 38th day, the standoff has become the longest government shutdown in US history, surpassing the 35-day record set during Donald Trump’s first term after repeated Senate rejections of a House-passed Republican funding bill. — Agencies