Flights Falter Amid Government Shutdown

khongjennifer07
1 day ago
3 min read

By Sarah Perez December 10, 2025

Time slows down for travellers as they stand in long waitlines. Overhead screens filled with the word “delayed” extinguish any hopes of progressing in the line, invoking dread. At 40 major airports serving 1.9 million daily passengers, cancellations and delays became the reality for 5.2 million travellers during the 10 days of flight reductions by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA implemented flight reductions due to complications from the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. With Congress unable to finalize their financial plans, essential government workers such as air traffic controllers were required to work unpaid. During the shutdown, 13,000 controllers called off of work as they dealt with increased stress and the need to pay bills. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy highlighted concerns like runway incursions and aircraft passing too close to each other as potential safety issues that required a reduction in flights. According to Mike McCormick, an assistant professor of Air Traffic Management at Embry-Riddle University, controllers recognizing their limitations and staying home maintains safety because it prevents the risk of poorer performance and reduces flight volumes.

Nov. 7, the first day of the reductions, witnessed a 4% decrease in flights, causing 2,740 delays at airports in the weekend of Nov. 8 to 9. The reduction in flights was supposed to reach 10% by Nov. 14, which Airlines for America estimated a $285M-580M cost daily. By Nov. 12, 900 flights had been cancelled; more 2,000 had been delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Staffing shortages are attributed to slowed and halted departures because the controllers’ jobs cannot be replaced by another department.

The FAA deals with a shortage of 3,000 controllers–a number that is expected to grow with their mandatory retirement age of 56, and a lack of sufficient instructional personnel. From Nov. 7 to 9, controller staffing issues were the reason for 61% of National Airspace System (NAS) delay minutes, which is a 14% increase from Nov. before the shutdown and a 45% increase from October.

“If I were an air traffic controller, I would consider the experience of the shutdown a breach of institutional trust. It is a high-stakes and valuable job, but the government treated the workers like their income was non-essential, while labeling them essential workers. It is not fair to expect the personnel to immediately jump back to working at full capacity after 43 days of no pay,” Senior Sophie Yu said.

When the government shutdown ended on Nov. 12, FAA controllers received 70% of their backpay and were promised the remaining 30% approximately a week after their first payment. Flight reductions were cut to 3% on Nov. 14, circumventing the 4% increase to 10%. On Nov. 17, the reductions were lifted completely.

“The FAA should try to hire more workers to improve the flawed system, but the shortage of people in the field makes recovering from these staffing losses almost impossible. I hope that the FAA deals with the situation wisely and passenger safety is prioritized over money,” Sophomore Katya Hemprich said.

As flights return to full capacity, the impact of flight reductions during the shutdown has demonstrated a potential long-term operational challenge as staffing shortages remain.