Salt Lake City International Airport is one of the 40 airports that will see flight cuts starting Friday due to the government shutdown, a spokesperson confirmed.
The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, is now the longest in the country’s history — and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that they plan to reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 markets nationwide as air traffic controllers continue to work without pay, The Associated Press reported.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Travelers at Salt Lake City International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.
Salt Lake City airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer said the facility in Utah’s capital is on the list of airports that will see cuts. She added that airport officials are working to get the message out to travelers that they should “double-check with their airline” regarding possible cancellations or delays.
According to flight tracking site FlightRadar24, at least eight flights from the airport and seven flights to it Friday had been called off as of late Thursday afternoon. Trips to big cities, like Denver and Phoenix, and small ones, like Missoula and Tucson, were among those canceled.
Delta Air Lines, the airport’s largest carrier, said in a news release Thursday that it would offer more flexibility to customers traveling from, to or via markets dealing with cuts. The company said it would allow flyers to change, cancel or refund their flights Friday through Sunday without penalty.
Delta promised to give customers on canceled flights as much of a heads-up as it could.
So far, Salt Lake City hasn’t seen long security lines and wait times that many other airports have experienced. Volmer said that’s because the airport is in its “in-between season,” after fall break and before the winter holidays.
None of Utah’s other passenger airports appeared on the FAA’s list.