Travellers are seeing flight delays and cancellations a week into the US government shutdown. Some federal services were stopped on 01OCT, 2025, and the travel chaos that was originally predicted appears to be unfolding. The BBC says about 3,200 flights were delayed as of Tuesday afternoon.
Some of the airports affected by delays include:
- Nashville
- Houston
- Dallas
- Chicago O’Hare
- Newark
- Las Vegas
- Burbank
As of 11 a.m. ET on 08OCT, Flight Aware was showing 150 delays on flights heading to Boston Logan, or 24% of all incoming flights. Overall, Flight Aware was showing 1,160 delays in and out of US airports at that time, but the number is expected to climb as the day progresses.
Work without pay
One of the biggest issues is a shortage of air traffic controllers. As we reported here at OpenJaw, up to 750,000 federal workers are facing layoffs as services are curtailed. Trump has also threatened mass firings. The New York Times says the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is dealing with a shortage of about 3,000 controllers, who are required to work throughout the shutdown but won’t be paid. A 2019 law stipulates that they will eventually be compensated once the shutdown is over.
US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy says some air traffic controllers have been calling in sick, and that staffing has dropped to 50% in some areas.
The union for the controllers put out a statement on 07OCT saying “it is normal for a few air traffic controllers to call in sick on any given day, and this is the latest example of how fragile our aviation system is in the midst of a national shortage of these critical safety professionals.”
Thanksgiving warning
As the shutdown goes on, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt has told Sky News that the risk of wider impact to the US aviation system “is growing by the day” as critical workers work without pay. He also warned that the shutdown could even affect November’s holiday travel plans, "I'm gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down, then it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans' Thanksgiving holidays."
Hefty cost
In September, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) warned congress that an estimated $1 billion could be lost every week because of the shutdown. The actual cost hasn’t been determined yet but it’s safe to say US airports are struggling at the moment, and travellers should be aware that their journeys might not be straightforward.
