The ability of federal safety regulators to oversee airplane maintenance at United Airlines has been hindered by inadequate staffing, high employee turnover and the improper use of virtual inspections instead of on-site reviews in some cases, according to a government watchdog audit released Friday.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general said the Federal Aviation Administration lacks sufficient staffing and workforce planning to effectively monitor United’s large fleet. Past audits by the government watchdog also highlighted FAA challenges overseeing other airline maintenance programs, including at American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Allegiant Air.

The FAA declined to comment on the findings but referred The Associated Press to a letter it sent the inspector general’s office that was included in the audit report. In it, the FAA said it agreed with most of the recommendations and was taking steps to address them by the end of the year.

“FAA will implement a more systemic approach to strengthen inspector capacity and will take other measures to ensure that staffing levels remain sufficient to meet surveillance requirements,” the letter said.

The recommendations included a reevaluation of staffing rules, an independent workplace survey of inspector workloads and office culture, and improved training on accessing and using United’s safety data — a current gap that the report said currently keeps inspectors from fully evaluating maintenance issues and safety risk trends.

In a statement to AP, United said it works closely with the FAA on a daily basis in addition to employing its own internal safety management system.

“United has long advocated in favor of providing the FAA with the resources it needs for its important work,” the carrier said.

The inspector general’s office said the audit was conducted between May 2024 and December 2025, amid a series of maintenance-linked incidents at United.

It found that the FAA sometimes had its personnel conduct inspections “virtually” when it lacked staffing or funding for travel even though agency policy requires postponing reviews that can’t be done on site. Doing the work remotely can create safety risks because inspectors may miss or misidentify maintenance problems, the reported stated.

“Inspectors we spoke with stated that their front-line managers instructed them to perform inspections virtually rather than postponing inspections,” the report said.

The audit also found that ongoing staffing shortages at the FAA inspection offices tasked with United’s oversight have resulted in fewer inspections being conducted, limited surveillance of the carrier’s maintenance operations and an “overall loss of institutional knowledge.”

In March 2024, passengers had to be evacuated from a United plane that rolled off a runway after landing in Houston. The next day, a United jetliner bound for Japan lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco but later landed safely in Los Angeles.

In December 2025, a United flight experienced an engine failure during takeoff from Dulles International Airport before safely returning to the airport.

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Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed.

By JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT, Associated Press

The Federal Aviation Administration ‘s unprecedented order to scale back flights nationwide because of the record-long government shutdown took effect Friday morning, with some passengers trying to figure out backup travel plans.

The 40 airports selected by the FAA span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the order.

In some metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will be impacted, while the ripple effects could reach smaller airports as well.

Airlines scrambled to adjust their schedules and began canceling flights Thursday in anticipation of the FAA’s official order, while travelers with plans for the weekend and beyond waited nervously to learn if their flights would take off as scheduled.

Airlines also planned cancellations into the weekend, directing passengers to check apps to learn their flight status.

More than 815 flights have been called off nationwide, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines said it would scratch roughly 170 flights Friday, and American Airlines planned to cut 220 a day through Monday.

The FAA said the reductions would start at 4% and ramp up to 10% by Nov. 14. They are to be in effect between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and impact all commercial airlines.

The agency said the cutbacks are necessary to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for more than a month. Many are pulling six-day work weeks with mandatory overtime, and increasing numbers of them have begun calling out as the financial strain and exhaustion mount.

“You can’t expect people to go in to work when they’re not getting a paycheck,” said Kelly Matthews of Flat Rock, Michigan, a frequent business traveler who has canceled most of her upcoming trips. “I mean it’s not a matter of them not wanting to do the job — but you can’t afford to pay for gas, your day care and everything else.”

The Federal Aviation Administration’s plan to slash airline capacity due to the government shutdown will hit some of the nation’s busiest airports, including in Atlanta, Dallas, New York City and Los Angeles, the agency said Thursday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that 40 “high-volume” areas will have their air traffic cut by 10% in the coming days to cope with shortages of air traffic controllers, who are working without pay amid the government shutdown. The cuts will be phased in starting Friday morning at 6 a.m. local time at airports, with airlines reaching the full 10% mark by next week, according to an emergency order issued Thursday by the FAA. 

The list of airports includes scores of busy passenger airports in major cities and airline hubs, as well as airports with heavy cargo traffic including Louisville, Memphis, Anchorage and Ontario, California, as well as an airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, that is frequented by private jets and other general aviation traffic.

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order by airport code:

1. Anchorage International (ANC)
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
3. Boston Logan International (BOS)
4. Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
5. Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
6. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
7. Dallas Love (DAL)
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
9. Denver International (DEN)
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
12. Newark Liberty International (EWR)
13. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
14. Honolulu International (HNL)
15. Houston Hobby (HOU)
16. Washington Dulles International (IAD)
17. George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
18. Indianapolis International (IND)
19. New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)
20. Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
21. Los Angeles International (LAX)
22. New York LaGuardia (LGA)
23. Orlando International (MCO)
24. Chicago Midway (MDW)
25. Memphis International (MEM)
26. Miami International (MIA)
27. Minneapolis/St Paul International (MSP)
28. Oakland International (OAK)
29. Ontario International (ONT)
30. Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
31. Portland International (PDX)
32. Philadelphia International (PHL)
33. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
34. San Diego International (SAN)
35. Louisville International (SDF)
36. Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
37. San Francisco International (SFO)
38. Salt Lake City International (SLC)
39. Teterboro (TEB)
40. Tampa International (TPA)