Travel Chaos at Major Airports as Government Shutdown Eclipses Record 34th Day

The ongoing shutdown is exacerbating travel delays, prompting concerns of potential airspace closures as holiday season approaches.

Travelers wait at a ride-sharing and taxi pickup area at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 27, 2024. Benoit Tessier/File Photo/Reuters

Federal aviation authorities implemented new ground halts at major Texas airports on Monday as the ongoing government shutdown drove air traffic controller absences to higher levels.

The deadlock on funding in Congress has seen operations delayed or stalled for 3.2 million passengers since the start of the shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted that acute personnel shortages were responsible for service stoppages in Dallas and Austin, with similar actions likely to be taken in Houston and Washington-area hubs. By midday Monday, upward of 2,900 flights had been delayed or canceled, as the shutdown passed 34 days.

Approximately 13,000 controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration sentinels are working without pay to keep the air transport system open.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the department would impose a comprehensive airspace ground halt should the situation become unsafe.

“If we thought that it was unsafe ... we'll shut the whole airspace down. We won’t let people travel. We’re not there at this point. It’s just significant delays,” Duffy told CNBC.

The FAA documented on Friday more than 6,200 delayed flights and 500 cancellations. In New York, absences spiked to 80 percent, with Duffy attributing 65 percent of the postponements to air traffic controller shortages.

More than 3.2 million travelers were affected by the travel chaos, including 300,000 on Friday alone, according to Airlines for America, the consortium advocating for American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue Airways, which quantified the aggregate toll.

United CEO Scott Kirby warned that the shutdown was affecting flight bookings and that airlines are growing worried about the coming start of the holiday travel season, echoing Vice President JD Vance’s similar sentiments about the shutdown’s effect on holiday travel, who warned it could become a “disaster.”

Duffy underscored that the vast majority of travel issues are due to the lack of air traffic controllers coming into work, but said he wouldn’t fire any, saying they “are trying to put food on their families’ table.”

“I am asking all of them to come to work,” he said.

Duffy has called on Democrats in the Senate to pass the Republicans’ continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels. Democrats say they won’t pass funding until Republicans agree to health care reforms.

“Yesterday saw another horrible record set: 84% of delays were due to staff shortages,” Duffy posted Monday on X. “If this shutdown doesn’t end now, air traffic controllers will receive another $0 paycheck.”

Many air traffic controllers have temporarily taken on second jobs, citing living expenses such as housing, child care, food, and gas as their primary concerns. Officials expect that number to increase the longer the shutdown drags on.

Monday’s delay comes on the back of a tumultuous weekend for air travelers. Newark Liberty International Airport saw ground delays of three-and-a-half hours on Sunday, representing half of nationwide flight cancellations.

Reuters contributed to this report.