(MENAFN) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Friday that U.S. air travel may experience reductions of up to 20% if the federal government shutdown continues.

He stated that an initial 10% cut in flights is set to take place within the 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 (Federal Aviation Administration)," Duffy explained during an interview with Fox News.

Highlighting that staffing shortages are a major cause of delays, he said: "What that means is air traffic controllers are calling in sick. That happens in different parts of the country. As that happens, you'll also see additional delays throughout the American airspace."

Duffy attributed the deepening personnel crisis to the ongoing shutdown, arguing that “the problem we really have is air traffic controllers aren't being paid, and 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 further cautioned that the situation could deteriorate if the shutdown persists. "If this shutdown doesn't end relatively soon, the consequence of that is going to be more controllers don't come to work. And then we're going to have to continue to assess the pressure in the airspace and make decisions that may, again, move us from 10% to 15% maybe to 20."

Calling on Congress to swiftly bring the shutdown to a close, Duffy urged lawmakers to separate their political disputes from the nation’s aviation system.

"Let's end the shutdown, and let Congress debate their issues. But let's not hold the American people hostage and air travelers hostage by the shutdown that's gone on to a historic level right now."

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