Travelers can expect to see fewer flights to many major U.S. cities starting Friday morning, when the Federal Aviation Administration said it would reduce traffic across 40 airports to ease the load on the nation's air traffic controllers.

The FAA previously announced the plan Wednesday, citing evidence of fatigue among air traffic controllers, who are working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown. The order says airlines must reduce their daily scheduled domestic flights by 4 percent starting at 6 a.

Travelers across the U.S. are facing potential chaos as a government shutdown threatens to disrupt flights nationwide

Major changes are coming to Chicago's airports on Friday, as airlines are set to begin cutting the number of flights in the air as part of a mandate from the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce air traffic by 10% at 40 "high-volume" airports.

U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights Thursday due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce traffic at the country’s busiest airports starting Friday because of the government shutdown.

Major U.S. airports are among those facing 10% reductions in air traffic Friday due to the government shutdown