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MSP airport flight cancellations ease, but staffing issues linger still

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Published  November 14, 2025 5:02pm CST
Travel
FOX 9

The Brief

    • The government shutdown has ended, but flight disruptions may continue.
    • MSP experienced 23 flight cancellations today, down from 58 on Monday.
    • The air traffic control system remains critically understaffed, affecting flight operations.

(FOX 9) - As the government shutdown concludes, travelers may still face disruptions at airports.

Flight cancellations at MSP

What we know:

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) saw 23 flight cancellations on Friday, a decrease from 38 on Wednesday and 58 on Monday.

The Federal Aviation Adminstration (FAA) reports that flight reductions are down to 3% for this weekend, with a potential return to normal operations by next week.

The backstory:

The shutdown led to a shortage of air traffic controllers, prompting the FAA to reduce flights from 40 airports, including MSP. The cuts affected up to 6% of flights before the shutdown ended.

Air traffic controller challenges

What they're saying:

"45,000 flights a day, moving 3 million passengers a day and you're not getting paid. Very, very, very frustrating for them," Drew MacQueen, NATCA Vice President told FOX 9.

Why you should care:

The air traffic control system was already critically understaffed before the shutdown. The union estimates they were about 3,800 controllers short, and the shutdown has exacerbated the issue.

What we don't know:

The union is uncertain how many air traffic controllers have left permanently, as paperwork processing was halted during the shutdown.

The Source: FOX 9's Corin Hoggard spoke with multiple sources for information contained in this story.

TravelMinneapolis-St. Paul International AirportMinnesotaPolitics