Travelers brace for chaos as US government shutdown threatens holiday flights

Travelers braced for canceled flights, scrambled plans and holidays stranded in airports as a U.S. government shutdown threatened to snarl trips across the country. News that the Federal Aviation Administration will reduce air traffic at 40 airports beginning Friday set off a flurry of worry among those planning trips. “Oh no,” said 31-year-old Talia Dunyak, who is due to fly next week from Vienna to Philadelphia, among the airports targeted by the FAA for flight cutbacks.