Storyline: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will reduce airline traffic by 10 percent at 40 locations beginning on Friday, as the ongoing federal government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday. Speaking at a joint press conference alongside FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford in Washington D.C., Duffy cited air traffic control safety concerns for the flight cuts, saying that "we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating," He said the move will lead to more cancellations, adding that the Department of Transportation will work with the airlines to address any problems in a systematic way. Bedford said that a 10-percent reduction in scheduled capacity would be appropriate to "continue to take the pressure off of our (air traffic) controllers, and as we continue to see staffing triggers, there will be additional measures that will be taken in those specific markets." Since the U.S. federal government shutdown began, about 13,000 air traffic controllers and roughly 50,000 airport security officers have been forced to work without pay. An increasing number of employees have taken leave, leading to acute staffing shortages in the aviation industry, worsening flight delays across many regions, and raising concerns over aviation safety. Data from the U.S. flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that thousands of flights nationwide are experiencing delays each day. More than 4,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed on Tuesday, following nearly 5,000 delays on Monday. Shotlist: FILE: Miami, Florida, USA - Oct 1, 2025: 1. Various of planes at airport 2. Various of planes taking off, landing 3. Passengers with luggage walking Chicago, Illinois, USA - Oct 8, 2025: 4. Passengers with luggage walking FILE: Miami, Florida, USA - Oct 1, 2025: 5. Various of screen showing flight information 6. Various of check-in counters, passengers 7. Various of passengers having security check Chicago, Illinois, USA - Oct 8, 2025: 8. Passengers outside airport terminal 9. Various of air traffic control tower FILE: Washington D.C., USA - October 2024: 10. Various of White House [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]