The current U.S. federal government shutdown is primarily impacting the Transportation Security Administration, and thus severely disrupting air travel. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sounded the alarm by reporting a surge of flight cancelations across the country. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that if the shutdown persists, commercial flights will be cut, impacting airports across the country.
Nearly all federal workers, including about 1.4 million air traffic controllers, are currently performing their jobs without pay or else furloughed. These staff shortages have caused operational disruptions at multiple large hub airports and other essential air service locations. Notably, half of the country’s 30 largest airports are experiencing workforce issues, creating a ripple effect across the aviation sector.
Nick Daniels, a representative for air traffic controllers, called them frustrated. I’m receiving text messages from them such as, ‘I don’t even have the money to put gas in my car to get to work.
Duffy made clear that the cutbacks will be phased in slowly, with only a 4% reduction in domestic flights likely on Friday. On Saturday, this figure will increase to 5%. By Sunday, it will be at 6%, fully realized at a full 10% reduction next week. Based on data for a recent typical day, the cancellations would cancel flights for between 3,500 and 4,000 flights each day.
These flight reductions will heavily hit some of the nation’s busiest hub airports. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Denver International, Chicago O’Hare International, and Los Angeles International are among those facing significant operational disruptions.
Those were some of Duffy’s first warnings, with the threat of widespread, immediate flight cancellations looming as the shutdown continued. “There will be frustration,” he stated. We are approaching the point in the previous shutdown where public and business frustration started to simmer. Though Americans had a little more patience at the time.
The shutdown has now become the longest in U.S. history, raising concerns among aviation officials about safety and efficiency during this precarious period. As perhaps only the FAA chief Bryan Bedford could, he stressed the need for stability in air travel operations.
We base what we do day in and day out on predictability,” Daniels continued. We are observing increasing pressures that may threaten our ability to fulfill our promise to the American people. If we don’t come to grips with these problems, we’ll jeopardize our hard-earned standing as the safest airline system in the world.
The demanding reality has even led some air traffic controllers to look for jobs outside the service just to survive. “They have to make a decision, do I go to work and not get a paycheque and not put food on the table? Or do I drive for Uber or DoorDash or wait tables?” Duffy continued to paint the picture of the impossible decisions employees are forced to make.
Some airports have already grounded flights for hours due to staff shortages caused by sick calls from air traffic controllers. Duffy’s message was unequivocal and stark—air travel is safe. He went on to detail how the decision to cancel flights was made with passenger safety in mind, to improve operational efficiency.
So even if we were to see huge cancellations in our domestic U.S. flights, on the international front that will not be the case. With the government shutdown now in its second week and no apparent solution on the horizon, the aviation industry prepares for more impacts from this serious situation.