Flight anxiety is reaching new levels as an emergency order by the FAA mandated reductions due to the government shutdown.
Flights at 40 major airports are on the chopping block, starting Friday.
"It is not a science it is an art that we're trying to deploy to try and keep people safe in the airspace," said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Delta, United, and American Airlines have waived fees for travelers who want to cancel or change their upcoming flights, a move that allows for some flexibility, according to aviation expert Chris Dane.
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What local lawmakers are saying about reduced flights, shutdown
"Even for folks like in basic economy where they're non-refundable, they're allowing them to be refunded during this period. So the airlines are acting responsibly," Dane said.
The CEO of budget airline Frontier warned passengers should buy a backup ticket if headed to a wedding, funeral, or other must-attend event.
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The FAA has ordered flight reductions to start at 4%, which will impact hundreds of flights.
That proportion is supposed to rise to 6% on Tuesday, 8% on Thursday and 10% by the end of next week.
Even with recent upgrades to TSA technology to make air travel smoother for customers, Sec. Duffy on Friday said the decision stems from systemic issues in air traffic control.
"We have more complaints from pilots about stress from air traffic controllers and more complaints about the lack of responsiveness from controllers," he said.
Duffy largely blames Democrats for the shutdown — but Dane argues the shortage of air traffic controllers is not political.
"It doesn't matter what party you're affiliated with, you're both traveling and everybody's upset," he said.
There were nearly 1,500 cancellations and more than 5,600 flight delays in the U.S. on Friday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. As of Friday evening, the site forecast some 845 cancelations on Saturday.
