Some flights are canceled to and from Colorado Springs Airport under a new federal directive this week that cut flights by 10% across the nation’s 40 busiest airports.

United Airlines canceled 11 flights departing from Colorado Springs Airport between Friday and Sunday, and 11 leg flights arriving in Colorado Springs, according to a list of affected flights provided by the airline. All of the canceled flights are between Colorado Springs and Denver.

The cuts come after the Federal Aviation Administration announced it is reducing air traffic by 10% across “high-volume” markets starting Friday to maintain safety during the ongoing government shutdown, which began Oct. 1. Denver International Airport is among the affected airports.

United Airlines told The Gazette it canceled 4% of its flights under the FAA guidance, but the airline’s hub-to-hub and international flights won’t be impacted by the schedule reductions.

The airline is instead reducing flights on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that don’t travel between United’s hubs, the airline’s CEO Scott Kirby wrote in an online statement Wednesday.

“That’ll help us maintain our operation and give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip,” United spokesperson Russell Carlton told The Gazette.

There are more open seats right now because of the time of the year, so United travelers have more options to take alternative flights.

“The number of cancellations is comparable to what we manage during a mid-sized winter storm, and our teams are trained and equipped to handle this while minimizing the disruption for customers,” he said.

The airline is notifying travelers who may have an impacted flight.

“We are able to notify customers right away if their flights were changed or canceled, so that they are aware of any changes prior to going to the airport. We used technology that looked at each airport to find the flights that could be canceled with the least possible disruption to customers,” Carlton said.

United customers can check the travel waiver to see affected flights or view their flight status on the airline’s website, United.com.

Any customer who wishes not to travel can have a refund, even if their flight is not impacted by the FAA directive, Carlton said.

As of early Friday afternoon, no other airlines had canceled flights into or out of Colorado Springs Airport that day, its flight status tracker showed. Allegiant, American, Delta, Southwest and United airlines all provide service at the municipal airport.

Officials said Thursday the airport is operating as usual amid the government shutdown. It “has not experienced significant impacts” to its Transportation Security Administration screening lines and there have been no notable flight delays or cancellations resulting from federal staffing levels, airport spokeswoman Aidan Ryan said.

Delta Airlines has completed all FAA-directed flight cancelations between Friday and Sunday, the company said in an online statement. A list of Delta’s affected cities includes Denver, but not Colorado Springs.

“We’re operating the vast majority of our flights as scheduled,” the company said in an email.

The airline is giving its travelers as much notice as possible about any changes to their flights, Delta said in a statement on its website. Impacted customers traveling to, from or through the impacted airports can change, cancel or refund their flights without penalty, the airline said.

Customers should visit Delta.com or use the app to check their flight status or explore alternative flight options.

Allegiant Airlines spokesperson Andrew Porrello said in an email the airline is communicating with the FAA to understand the impact of the directive on Allegiant’s scheduled flights.

“Customers do not need to take any action at this time,” Porrello said.

Passengers with affected flights will be notified directly by Allegiant.

American Airlines said in a statement Thursday night it has reduced its flight schedules by 4% at 40 airports between Friday and Monday, or about 220 flights canceled each day. The airline still plans to operate about 6,000 daily flights, even with the cancellations.

Neither Denver International Airport nor Colorado Springs Airport were listed among American’s affected airports, according to its travel waiver.

The airline is communicating with impacted customers and they should check their flight status on AA.com or American Airlines’ mobile app. Customers whose flights are canceled for any reason, or those who choose not to fly, can change their flight or request a refund without penalty, the company said.

Southwest Airlines said in a statement Thursday night that on Friday it would start a 4% reduction in flying across 34 of the more than 117 airports it serves. Southwest “proactively canceled about 120 flights” for Friday, “representing a small portion of our daily schedule.”

The airline expected to cancel fewer than 100 Saturday flights.

No international flights will be affected.

“The vast majority of our customers’ flights will not be disrupted, and Southwest will communicate directly with affected customers as soon as possible,” the company said.

Customers booked through Wednesday can adjust their travel plans at no cost or can receive a refund if they choose not to travel, even if their flight is not affected, Southwest said.

Travelers largely said in a Thursday post on The Gazette’s social media that traveling through Colorado Springs and Denver airports has been quick and easy amid the shutdown.

“My husband was surprised at how quickly he got through TSA at (Colorado Springs) Airport,” Lisa Waggoner wrote. “That was last Sunday. He says it was easy.”

Jamie Golden said there was “absolutely no wait” at Denver International on Thursday.

“Walked right up and through security in a couple minutes, no line at all!” Golden wrote.

Alan Rainville said he experienced no delays at Colorado Springs Airport on Thursday morning. It “was crowded at 5 a.m. for security, but lines moved quickly.”

Travelers can also check live flight delays and cancellations on flightaware.com.