Number of flights just changed at MIA and FLL after shutdown. What’s next?
Airports in South Florida may be returning to normal, or closer to normal, sooner than travelers expected.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said on Friday that they would decrease daily flight reductions they were requiring at 40 airports across the country from 6% to 3%. That came a day after they’d indicated the 6% reduction in departures would last several more days.
But they now say the 3% will take effect at 6 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at the 40 airports, including Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International.
“We believe the impact of the shutdown will be muted by Monday,” aviation analytics firm Cirium wrote in a note sent to the Miami Herald on Friday,
Duffy and Bedford said their change came after a recommendation from the safety and operations team at the FAA.
“The decision reflects improvements in air traffic controller staffing levels and a continued decline in staffing-trigger events across the National Airspace System (NAS),” they said in a statement issued Friday. The move avoids the 10% phase-in originally scheduled to take effect on Nov. 14.
“The 3% reduction will remain in place while the FAA monitors system performance throughout the weekend and evaluates whether normal operations can resume,” the statement said.
The move comes 48 hours after the government ended a 44-day shutdown. During that time, air traffic controllers, who are federal government workers, were asked to work for free. That resulted in significant strain on them. Some stopped showing up for work.
Here’s what else to know about what’s happening at MIA and FLL:
How many flights are being canceled at the airports right now?
Flight reductions: The Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports will see 3% of flights canceled daily because of the shutdown fallout. That will keep hold until the Federal Aviation Administration rolls back the reduction requirement made at 40 airports across the country. In addition to MIA and FLL, Tampa and Orlando are also on the list among Florida airports. If the shutdown continued, the phase-in would have topped off at a 10% reduction that would have taken effect Friday, after flights were cut back 4% on Nov. 7, increasing to 6% Tuesday. The number would have risen to 8% on Thursday if a shutdown deal had not been made. On Friday, MIA had 8 cancellations of 543 flights, a 1.47% cancel rate. “Almost a normal day,” according to Cirium. Of 325 flights from FLL, there were 8 cancellations, or 2.46%
Nationwide, there were 25,294 flights scheduled to depart from the U.S. on Friday, and 540 cancellations, or 2%, according to Cirium. That’s an improvement from Thursday’s figure of 3.52%.
Will Thanksgiving travel be affected?
Right now, the FAA is maintaining a 3% cutback in domestic flights at 40 airports across the country, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Leaders have not said how long the reduction in flights will last as they gradually return to normal. But even if the cutbacks end by Thanksgiving week, we all know that holiday travel brings on its own chaos.
How to track your flight at MIA and FLL
Miami: One of the MIA flight trackers shows a list of all expected arrivals and departures with options to use a drop-down menu to narrow results. It displays the carrier, flight number and where the plane is going to or coming from. It also gives real-time updates on the flight’s arrival or departure status, which concourse the terminal is in and the location of baggage claim. The other online tool lets you track by flight or route. If you know the carrier, the date and the flight number, this tool might be easier to use because it will only show information for your flight.
Fort Lauderdale: FLL’s flight tracker works by flight or route. You’ll need to know the date, along with the airline carrier and flight number or the departure and arrival airport. The tool also gives people the option to see a list of all expected arrivals and departures and details on the flight’s terminal and baggage claim, too.You can also check your flight status with the airline directly, which might be easier to do through the airline’s app. But you can also check via the airline’s website.
The 40 airports around country where flights are reduced
1. Anchorage International in Alaska
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia
3. Boston Logan International in Massachusetts
4. Baltimore/Washington International in Maryland
5. Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina
6. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International in Ohio
7. Dallas Love Field in Texas
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National in Virginia
9. Denver International in Colorado
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International in Texas
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in Michigan
12. Newark Liberty International in New Jersey
13. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
14. Honolulu International in Hawaii
15. Houston Hobby in Texas
16. Washington Dulles International in Virginia
17. George Bush Houston Intercontinental in Texas
18. Indianapolis International in Indiana
19. John F. Kennedy International in New York
20. Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
21. Los Angeles International in California
22. LaGuardia Airport in New York
23. Orlando International in Florida
24. Chicago Midway International in Illinois
25. Memphis International in Tennessee
26. Miami International
27. Minneapolis/St Paul International in Minnesota
28. Oakland International in California
29. Ontario International in California
30. Chicago O`Hare International in Illinois
31. Portland International in Oregon
32. Philadelphia International in Pennsylvania
33. Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona
34. San Diego International in California
35. Louisville International in Kentucky
36. Seattle/Tacoma International in Washington
37. San Francisco International in California
38. Salt Lake City International in Utah
39. Teterboro in New Jersey
40. Tampa International in Florida
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM.