The U.S. government shutdown has thrown the nation’s aviation system into disarray, leaving tens of thousands of staff unpaid and triggering widespread flight delays that have raised serious safety concerns.
After 40 days of deadlock, the U.S. Senate was edging towards a bipartisan deal late on Sunday which would fund the government through January, according to U.S. media reports, which would bring an end to the longest federal shutdown in recent history.
The shutdown, which began on October 1 due to congressional gridlock over funding, has left federal workers without pay and disrupted essential services for millions of Americans.
In aviation, the impact has been acute as roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 airport security screeners have been working without pay. As more employees take leave, staffing shortages are worsening, causing cascading delays and heightening risks across the civil aviation sector.
"When I left the U.S., it was delayed for five hours because they couldn't find a pilot. So that affected my flight," said Sophie Allen, a passenger
"We were on the way into JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport). We had nearly a two-hour delay through passport immigration. So it seemed to be very understaffed. The queues are a mile long, up and down the terminal. And there were people actually fainting," said Connor Lotte, a passenger stranded at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
"The number of flights or air traffic volume that could be impacted could go up in the days to come if the shutdown is not resolved. So be prepared for that if you're going to be traveling over the next few days or weeks," said Josh Lewis, another passenger.
Ana Lucia Hume, Air Controller at Miami-Dade Aviation Department, Miami International Airport, said this is an urgent issue that needs to be resolved, as pilots' mental health has already been affected.
"This shutdown is significantly affecting the air traffic controllers. If you think about it, have you ever seen the air traffic patterns? They're conducting numerous, numerous patterns for airlines not to crash or airplanes not to crash with each other. And if they are working without pay, that's added stress. So not only do they have the most stressful jobs, and they already suffer from mental health, but now it's going to be at a rise. So this needs to get fixed, and it needs to get fixed now," she said.
Experts warn that if the shutdown was to continue, airlines could face serious operational disruptions, and the strain on unpaid staff may compromise flight safety ahead of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday season.
Federal gov't shutdown disrupts travel, raises flight safety concerns
