United said that anyone who is traveling during the flight reduction period will be eligible for a refund, even if their flights are not impacted.

Alaska Airlines is SFO’s second-largest airline, with a 10.4% market share at the airport. The Alaska Air Group also owns Horizon Air, which code-shares with the airline. Alaska told SFGATE it has decided to cut flights from its most popular routes, but declined to comment on how the flight disruptions would directly impact passengers at SFO.

According to the FAA, thousands of flights at "high-traffic" airports across the country will be cut or canceled starting Friday. The decision, the FAA and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, was based on where air traffic controllers are feeling the most pressure.

The FAA ordered airlines to cut thousands of flights as the agency deals with air traffic controller shortages during the government shutdown. The cuts began Friday morning.

But flight operations at the airport appeared smooth Friday — the first day of the cuts — despite 78 canceled flights in the last 24 hours.

Overall, United has canceled more than 100 flights each day, from Friday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Nov. 9, the airline's website showed. Of those, 34 United flights scheduled to depart or arrive at Chicago O'Hare International Airport Friday were cut, with that number increasing to 38 Saturday.

(Reuters) -United Airlines and Delta Air Lines both started cancelling Friday flights after the Federal Aviation Administration directed reductions at 40 high-traffic U.S. airports to address air traffic control safety concerns, the carriers said Thursday.

FAA orders schedule reductions at 40 domestic airports starting Friday due to the government shutdown, prompting United Airlines to offer customer refunds.

What should you do if your flight is canceled? Here are the current cancellation policies for airlines flying in and out of CVG.

Major airlines say that most passengers whose flights are canceled, and many who choose not to fly, will be eligible for refunds and no-fee rebookings.

United Airlines is the largest carrier at Newark Liberty International Airport - how will it cope with the FAA's planned 10% flight reduction that begins this Friday?