Editor's note: This post will be regularly updated with the latest news and updates on travel during the ongoing federal government shutdown. It was last updated at 8:30 a.m. CT on Oct. 31.
The federal government shutdown is now more than a month old, with little indication it'll end anytime soon. As it enters a second month, the problems for travelers seem to be growing by the day.
After issues bubbled up at smaller airports across the country earlier this month, air traffic controller shortages began to hit major U.S. airports including Los Angeles (LAX) and Newark (EWR) this week. Concerns about both controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents calling out sick grew as both federal workforces received their first $0 paychecks this week. And at least two major U.S. airlines are calling for the shutdown to end.
Here's a quick glance at what to watch for in the days ahead.
Staffing Concerns & Issues Mounting at Airports Nationwide
What began with isolated issues of air traffic control staffing shortages in Burbank (BUR) and Nashville (BNA) has now started to spread across the country.
On Friday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that ground stops were possible – if not probable – at nearly a dozen different major U.S. airports, including Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), New York City (JFK), New York City-LaGuardia (LGA), Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO).
While those warnings don't specifically cite staffing as the cause, the FAA explicitly warned Friday that staffing levels were problematic at its critical Philadelphia control center – the office that handles Newark air traffic as well as much of Pennsylvania.
Air traffic controllers keep planes moving safely from towers and offices all across the country, and the shutdown is exacerbating a years-long shortage of workers. Deemed essential workers, air traffic controllers are working unpaid … while hiring and training programs to bring on much-needed additional workers have been paused, too.
On Tuesday, air traffic controllers received their first “zero” paychecks.
The nationwide signs of trouble continue a trend that began earlier this week. Both Los Angeles and then Newark briefly halted all flights due to low staffing levels. On Thursday evening, Orlando (MCO)
Little Recourse for Travelers
More than 1,200 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Thursday, according to data from FlightAware, with another 7,000-plus delayed. But don't expect airlines to help you out if you're caught in the mess.
Disruptions caused by air traffic control are typically deemed “uncontrollable.” So unlike controllable delays or cancellations caused by maintenance or airline crew issues, carriers aren't obligated to dole out meal or hotel vouchers to passengers stuck for hours, even overnight.
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier this week that more than 50% of flight disruptions have been caused by air traffic control shortages.
Travelers in the U.S. have shockingly few rights when things go wrong in air travel, but there's one ironclad rule: If an airline cancels or significantly delays your flight, you can scrap the reservation for a full refund – not just an airline credit that may expire in a few months, but your money back.
And it doesn't matter whether your flight was disrupted due to air traffic control shortages, bad weather, or an airline issue. If the flight gets canceled, you can get a refund and start over.
Flight not canceled, but continually getting pushed back? The cutoff to trigger a refund is a delay of more than three hours for a domestic flight, or six hours for an international flight.
Read more: Airlines Must Now Give Automatic Refunds for Flight Delays, Cancellations
TSA Agents Call Out Sick
Cracks are beginning to show at airport security checkpoints, too.
In an interview with ABC News earlier this week, a top official from the TSA acknowledged that more security agents – also working unpaid for the last month – are calling out sick, specifically citing issues in Atlanta (ATL), Newark, and JFK.
“We've seen isolated impacts to wait times,” Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl said. ” If this continues on … we expect those wait times to increase.”
TSA workers calling out sick en masse was a major turning point in the last federal government shutdown, which ended after 35 days in early 2019. The problem got so bad in Miami (MIA) that the airport closed one of its terminals early on the weekends, forcing some flights to depart from different terminals.
US Airlines Call for an End
Delta's private security lanes for business class passengers are already paying the price.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that the airline's dedicated security lanes in Los Angeles (LAX) and New York City (JFK) were closed this week due to TSA staffing shortages at both airports. Those checkpoints are reserved for Delta One business class passengers to clear security quicker and pop into a Delta One Lounge before a big trip abroad … but with TSA staffing running thin, the agency couldn't spare workers to staff them.
Barely 24 hours later, Delta waded into the debate with an official statement calling for an end to the shutdown immediately. Hours later, the CEOs of American Airlines, Southwest, and United echoed that statement.
Duffy Warns of Holiday ‘Disaster'
Back in 2019, both Democrats and Republicans used travel disruptions as a pressure point to eventually bring the government shutdown to a close after just over a month.
With the shutdown now past the one-month mark and Thanksgiving weeks away, the Trump administration is ramping up pressure.
Duffy, Trump's Transportation secretary, and Vice President J.D. Vance warned Thursday that holiday travel would be a “disaster” if the shutdown drags on.
“Our traffic will be snarled. It will be a disaster in aviation,” Duffy said during a briefing with reporters, according to PBS News.
