Airlines warn flight cancellations will continue even after shutdown ends

Flight disruptions that have marred air travel for millions of people in recent weeks could continue even after the government shutdown ends, airlines warned.

The Senate on Monday night passed a bill that could end the longest federal government shutdown in history, sending it to the House for a vote.

That vote came as staffing shortages of air traffic controllers, who are required to work without their regular paychecks in the shutdown, have delayed or canceled thousands of flights, with issues worsening in recent days. Controllers missed their second full paychecks of the shutdown this week, and some have taken up second jobs and are working with increasing levels of stress, government and union officials have said.

But even if the House passes the bill that will fund the federal government through January, it will take airlines time to readjust.

“Airlines’ reduced flight schedules cannot immediately bounce back to full capacity right after the government reopens,” Airlines for America, a lobbying group for airlines including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, said late Monday. “It will take time, and there will be residual effects for days. With the Thanksgiving travel period beginning next week and the busy shipping season around the corner, the time to act is now to help mitigate any further impacts to Americans.”

More than 5 million travelers have been affected by airline staffing issues since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, Airlines for America said . The disruptions have sent some passengers looking for alternatives, from buses to rental cars and even private jets.

Last Friday, the Trump administration started requiring commercial airlines to cut 4% of their domestic flights at 40 busy U.S. airports, with larger cuts on the way if the shutdown doesn’t end, as officials blamed the strain on air traffic controllers.

Aviation groups have said that record numbers of travelers are expected for the Thanksgiving period, with the holiday just over two weeks away.

Close to 5% of the scheduled 22,811 U.S. departures were canceled on Tuesday, a relatively light day for travel generally, according to aviation-data firm Cirium. That’s down from an 8.7% cancellation rate on Monday, or 2,239 flights, and 2,633 cancellations on Sunday, or 10.2% of the schedule. Delays had also piled up with staffing shortages and bad weather in major hubs, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Aviation groups on Tuesday urged lawmakers to not only end the shutdown but to provide more Department of Transportation funding to help modernize air traffic control and hire more controllers, who were in short supply even before the shutdown began.

“The government shutdown has disrupted that work and slowed the strong momentum we have built for modernization,” said the Modern Skies Coalition, which includes major airline, airport and aerospace groups such as Boeing, GE Aerospace and others, as well as labor unions.

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to dock pay of air traffic controllers who are absent. “All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding that he would recommend $10,000 bonuses for any air traffic controllers who weren’t absent during the shutdown.

“The job of keeping aviation safe and secure is tough every day, but forcing federal employees to do it without pay is unacceptable,” the Modern Skies Coalition said. “We owe public servants at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies supporting aviation, like the National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, a debt of gratitude and a swift ending to this shutdown.”