A board shows two American Airlines flights canceled and three flights arriving on time at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, November 7, 2025.
brian snyder reuter
Flight disruptions that have disrupted air travel for millions in recent weeks could continue even after the government shutdown ends, airlines and the transportation secretary said.
The Senate passed a bill Monday night ending the longest federal government shutdown in history, sending it to the House for a vote.
But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that won’t be resolved quickly.
“We’re going to wait until we see the data before lifting any travel restrictions, but that depends on air traffic controllers returning to work,” Duffy said at a news conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Mr Duffy also warned that the severe turmoil of the past few days could worsen without a deal.
The Senate vote comes amid a shortage of air traffic controllers who have had to work without regular pay during the shutdown and thousands of flights delayed or canceled, a problem that has worsened in recent days. Air traffic controllers have not received their second full paycheck due to this week’s shutdown, and some have taken second jobs and are working under increased stress levels, government and union officials said.
Even if the House passes a bill funding the federal government through January, airlines said it will take time to readjust.
“Airlines’ reduced flight schedules do not allow them to quickly return to full capacity as soon as the government reopens,” airline lobbying group Airlines for America said. delta airlines, united airlines, american airlines and southwest airlineshe said late Monday. “It will take time and the effects will remain for several days. With the Thanksgiving travel period starting next week and the busy shipping season approaching, now is the time to take action to reduce further impact on Americans.”
Airlines need time to reconfigure schedules and staff planes and crews, but the necessary flight reductions forced them to act quickly last week.
Airlines for America announced that more than 5 million travelers have been affected by airline staffing issues since the shutdown began on October 1st. The disruption has caused some passengers to look for alternatives, from buses to rental cars and even private jets.
The Trump administration last Friday began requiring commercial airlines to cut domestic flights by 4% at 40 busy U.S. airports, with even bigger cuts planned if the closures do not end, as officials blamed the strain on air traffic controllers.
Aviation groups said record numbers of travelers are expected over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is just over two weeks away.
Just over 5% of the 22,811 flights scheduled to depart from the U.S. were canceled on Tuesday, which was generally a relatively slow day for travel, according to aviation data firm Cirium. This is down from Monday’s cancellation rate of 8.7% (2,239 flights) and Sunday’s cancellation rate of 2,633 (10.2% of the schedule). Delays were caused by a combination of staffing shortages and bad weather at major hub airports such as Chicago O’Hare.
Similar to the closures in late 2018 and early 2019, this closure is highlighting the strain on the airline industry. But the previous shutdown ended hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers disrupted air traffic in the New York area.
Aviation groups on Tuesday urged lawmakers to not only end the shutdown, but also provide more funding to the Department of Transportation to help modernize air traffic control and hire more controllers, which was in short supply even before the shutdown began.
“The government shutdown has disrupted that effort and slowed the strong momentum we have built towards modernization,” said the Modern Skies coalition, which includes major airlines, airports and aerospace groups. boeing, ge aerospace In an open letter to Congress, unions and others wrote:
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to withhold pay for absent air traffic controllers. “All air traffic controllers must get back to work now!!!,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding that he recommended giving a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who did not miss work during the shutdown.
Duffy said that while he supported Trump’s ideas, he was concerned about the dedication and “patriotism” of air traffic controllers who are not on duty. “If there are air traffic controllers who are not systematically performing their duties, we will take action,” he said.
Duffy said air traffic controllers will receive about 70% of their pay within two days of the closure ending.
A day earlier, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, said it took about two and a half months for workers to fully recover from the shutdown that ended in 2019.
Duffy said the government shutdown has made it more difficult to staff air traffic controllers, with 15 to 20 people retiring per day, compared to about four per day before the shutdown. He said the country is short of about 2,000 controllers needed for the system.
“The job of keeping aviation safe is hard every day, but forcing federal employees to do it without pay is unacceptable,” the Modern Skies Coalition said in an open letter. “We owe it to the public servants of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies that support aviation, including the National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Security Administration, and Customs and Border Protection, to quickly end this shutdown.”
