U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford hold a press conference at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, DC, on November 5, 2025.
Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images
U.S. logistics companies warned Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to cut capacity by 10% at 40 major airports could significantly delay air cargo deliveries during the peak air transportation season.
The FAA’s order means thousands of flights will be canceled each day.
Air cargo is transported on the belly of commercial airliners, as well as on aircraft specifically designed to transport cargo only (aircraft operated by airlines). UPS, fedex And DHL.
“Air cargo relies on all parts of the aviation ecosystem working together,” Brandon Freed, executive director of the Air Forwarders Association, said in a statement.
“The supply chain will slow as production capacity is reduced and federal workers are stretched, and the longer this shutdown lasts, the worse it will become,” Fried said.
The FAA’s list of reductions affects four major airports in the United States that are busiest for commercial aviation: New York and New Jersey airports: JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Teterboro.
Other major hubs affected by the cuts are Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.
The FAA argues that the slowdowns are necessary because air traffic controllers are unavailable during the federal government shutdown.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that it could take “several weeks” to recover from the shutdown’s impact on air traffic controllers.
Logistics experts said that while some large shippers have the flexibility to change airport destinations to avoid airspace cuts, their options may be limited.
“Cargo planes like UPS, FedEx and DHL are well-positioned to reroute planes to local airports, but not all of these airports can carry that much cargo. They’re not equipped,” said Anthony Pizza, vice president of commercial at international freight forwarding company AGS.
“There is potential for these cargo planes to consolidate their flights and operate larger capacity flights,” Pizza said.
Air cargo accounts for only about 1% of all shipments by weight.
However, if you are shipping time-sensitive and expensive items such as pharmaceuticals or electronics, this is the most viable option. Up to 35% of air cargo consists of such items.
Fresh produce and just-in-time parts for manufacturing are also flown in.
“Domestic aviation is an important transportation option for many of our customers who transport high-value, time-sensitive cargo,” said Mike Short, president of global forwarding for the company. CH Robinson.
“We’re talking about auto production line parts, semiconductors, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defense materials, energy equipment,” Short said.
“Customers in these industries typically cannot tolerate downtime or freight delays given the way their businesses operate,” he said.
Short said that because air cargo capacity could be hit, CH Robinson is implementing contingency plans with customers that include transporting goods into the country by land.
“We’re not only looking at the cargo that will be affected, but also how we can utilize our existing inventory,” Short said.
“For example, a customer may have a large quantity of a critical component in one facility that will be out of its southern facility tomorrow. We use item-level technology to track inventory so we can keep our production lines running.”
DHL told CNBC it is monitoring the situation and stands ready to activate its contingency plans.
“Following the U.S. government’s announcement that it will reduce capacity by 10% at 40 airports, we are actively evaluating the potential impact on cargo operations,” the spokesperson said. “However, the FAA has not yet provided the critical operational details needed to assess the potential impact.”
Digital Freight Booking Marketplace Freitos The reduction in airspace comes during a crucial peak season for air cargo, and comes as demand for air cargo increases after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping raised hopes of easing trade tensions between the two countries.
“Airfares from China to the U.S. increased by 17%, and searches in these trade lanes on Freitos’ platform increased by 3%,” said Eitan Backman, Freitos’ chief marketing officer.
“In other words, the demand for holiday air cargo is there and high,” Bachmann said.
There are currently no plans to reduce international commercial flights.
But a spokesperson for Kuehne + Nagel, one of the world’s largest logistics companies, said the company was closely monitoring the situation.
“We will continue to work with our partners to mitigate any potential impacts to our customers’ supply chains,” a spokesperson said.
“We are still assessing the impact as most domestic traffic may be reduced and the higher volume international air cargo lanes within and outside the U.S. may not be significantly affected,” said Brian Burke, chief commercial officer at SEKO Logistics.
“However, any changes in production capacity ahead of a potential peak season for e-commerce could have ripple effects throughout the global supply chain,” Burke said.
Amazon told CNBC that the majority of its domestic customers travel via its terrestrial network. Amazon Air currently operates at less than half of the affected airports.
“We expect the impact on deliveries to our customers to be minimal, and we are working closely with our airport partners and airlines to develop the necessary contingency plans,” Amazon spokesperson Terence Clark said in a statement.
