FAA Flight Reductions Could Disrupt Travel for Santa Barbara Passengers

Travelers flying out of Santa Barbara could face disruptions, with the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) advising passengers to check their flight status after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a temporary 10% reduction in flights at major U.S. airports. 

The FAA’s move comes just as the busy holiday travel season begins.

The FAA announced on November 6, 2025, that it will temporarily reduce flights by 10% at 40 high-traffic airports from November 7, 2025.

The agency reasoned that the decision was made to maintain the “highest standards of safety in the national airspace system.” 

While SBA is not among the affected airports, many of its nonstop destinations are affected. The airport said in a November 6 social media post that it is monitoring the situation closely and will provide more updates to travelers. 

SBA offers nonstop flights to multiple destinations out of the 40 in the FAA’s mandated list. These include:

• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Dallas Fort-Worth
• Denver
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Oakland
• Phoenix
• Portland
• Salt Lake City
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• Seattle

Of the 40 high-impact airports, five are in California. These are the Los Angeles International Airport, the San Francisco International Airport, the San Diego International Airport, the Oakland International Airport, and the Ontario International Airport. 

The FAA will phase in reductions with a 4% cut from November 7, increasing it to 6% by November 11, 8% by November 13, and 10% by November 14, 2025. 

Additionally, the order prohibits visual flight rule approaches (VFR) at facilities with staffing triggers, and limits commercial space launches and reentries to local overnight hours. The order also bans parachute operations and photo missions near facilities with staffing triggers. 

Airlines have been directed to issue full refunds and are exempt from covering secondary costs. 

The order does not mandate a reduced number of international flights, the FAA said. Airlines can decide which flights to cancel to achieve the order’s goal. 

Strain on the System

In the statement, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford described the flight reduction as “proactive actions” to reduce the strain on the system. 

The FAA said the federal government shutdown, which has been in effect since October 1, has left controllers working without pay amid rising staffing shortages nationwide.

This has been pressurizing both pilots and air traffic controllers. This past weekend, there were 2,740 delays across airports, the statement noted. 

“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,” said Bedford.

The order is “not about politics”, it is about calculating the data and “alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay,” Duffy said.