• Top U.S. airlines have announced the cancellation of hundreds of flights scheduled for Friday.
• More than 760 planned Friday flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a real-time flights-tracking service.
• The aviation regulator on Thursday published a list of 40 airports where it has asked flight traffic to be reduced. 

Airline operators began canceling flights at major airports across the U.S. on Thursday and removed hundreds of scheduled trips from their schedules for Friday, following orders from authorities. 

Cancelations

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. said on Thursday it would cancel 4% of its flights scheduled for Friday through Sunday. That would be 200 cancellations on Friday alone, according to the airline's statement to the Financial Times. 

American Airlines Group, Inc. announced it would cancel approximately 220 flights per day from Friday to Monday, also representing a 4% reduction. Delta Air Lines, Inc. said it would cancel about 170 flights on Friday. Alaska Air, the US's fifth-biggest carrier, said it had begun cancelling a“limited number of flights” on Friday.

More than 760 planned Friday flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a real-time flights-tracking service.

UAL and DAL stocks dropped 1% and 1.3%, respectively, on Thursday, while AAL shares declined 2%.

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a 10% reduction in traffic at the busiest airports to maintain travel safety, as air traffic controllers show signs of strain amid the shutdown.

Aviation Order Details

On Thursday, the agency published a list of 40 airports where traffic would be curtailed, including some of the busiest, such as those in New York and San Francisco. The order goes into effect on Friday. 

“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” FAA Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. 

“The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”  

As part of the order, the FAA said airlines must provide full refunds, excluding secondary costs. Carriers will have discretion in determining which flights to cancel to meet the order's objectives, and the directive does not mandate cuts to international services, the agency added.

Retail's Reaction

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was 'neutral' for DAL, and 'bearish' for UAL and AAL as of late Thursday, with several users posting about the quantum of cancelled flights in each of those stock streams.

Some worried that the financial impact on airlines would increase if the government shutdown continued into the Thanksgiving holiday and the traditional travel surge.

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