What a government shutdown could mean for air travel
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A Marabu airline plane takes off from Leipzig/Halle Airport. (Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Air travel is bracing for disruptions as Congress races against tonight's federal funding deadline to avert a shutdown.
Why it matters: The U.S. Travel Association told Congressional leaders in a letter sent last Thursday that a shutdown would cost the U.S. economy $1 billion per week and affect millions of travelers.
State of play: Flights will continue operating as normal, but staff shortages could lead to delays or cancellations.
- In a shutdown, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers would have to work without pay, per the Department of Transportation's plan.
- Roughly 3,500 aviation professionals who provide critical safety and operational support would also be furloughed.
Flashback: The 2019 shutdown offers a glimpse of the potential disruptions ahead — although the holiday travel season may have magnified the chaos.
- During the 35-day shutdown, record numbers of TSA agents called out sick. Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, 10% of airport screeners missed work, compared to 3.1% the year prior.
- On the final day of the 2019 shutdown, the absence of just 10 air traffic controllers temporarily shut down travel at LaGuardia Airport, and saw delays at other major airports, primarily around the East Coast.
Zoom in: Air-traffic control workers are already feeling added pressure at work amid the strain of staffing shortages.
- Earlier this year, air-traffic control facilities were approximately 2,000 employees short of the FAA's staffing goal set with the air traffic controllers' union.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week the FAA had met its 2025 controller hiring goal, but under the agency's March plan, a shutdown would halt training and field instruction for new controllers.
- Long-standing staffing shortages come as controllers raise safety concerns following recent airline scares — including the fatal midair collision near Washington D.C. earlier this year.
What they're saying: Airlines for America, a lobbying group that represents major airlines carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — urged Congress to prevent a shutdown, warning that the system may "need to slow down, reducing efficiency."
- The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a statement: "A government shutdown adds unnecessary distraction to their work, adding strain on a workforce that is already stretched thin working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, operating the most complex airspace in the world."
Go deeper: What a government shutdown will likely mean for national parks
