FAA Issues Ground Delays and Stops as Shutdown Deepens, Thanksgiving Rush at Risk

With controllers working without pay for five weeks, staffing shortages are causing major delays and raising fears of widespread travel chaos ahead.

As the U.S. government shutdown stretched into its fifth week, air traffic controllers across the country found themselves in an increasingly precarious position. Required by law to work without pay, these essential workers faced mounting financial pressure just as the nation’s busiest travel season approached.

The Federal Aviation Administration was forced to implement emergency measures, including a 10 percent reduction in air traffic at 40 major airports, to maintain safety as staffing shortages cascaded through the system.

The human toll became impossible to ignore. Controllers interviewed by NPR described colleagues taking on second jobs at night, others relying on credit union loans to cover mortgages, and some simply calling in sick because they could no longer afford to work for free. The parallels to the 2018-2019 shutdown were striking, when a small number of coordinated absences at key facilities caused major disruptions along the East Coast and helped bring that shutdown to an end.

Air travel demand is not easing. TSA’s daily counts show volumes that match or exceed recent holiday records, and AAA’s forecasts point to another heavy Thanksgiving push. That surge is colliding with a system running on reduced margins.

The FAA’s command center has already leaned on Ground Delay Programs and periodic ground stops at major hubs, which throttle arrivals to keep the system safe but translate to rolling queues for passengers downstream. On affected days, live boards show national delays piling up before lunch and lingering into the evening bank. That’s going to impact travel itineraries for families this holiday season.

The community watching this unfold expressed deep frustration with the government’s handling of the crisis. Commenters highlighted the apparent contradiction between the government’s reliance on these workers and its failure to compensate them, with many questioning why controllers should continue following rules that the government itself seemed unwilling to honor. The sentiment reflected broader anger at what observers saw as a fundamental betrayal of federal workers caught in a political standoff.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a press conference, warned of potential “mass chaos” and the possible closure of “certain parts of the airspace” if the shutdown continued into the following week. Yet the real concern extended beyond immediate disruptions.

Controllers emphasized that fatigue and financial desperation were degrading the safety margins that keep the system functioning. One New York-area controller described working a night shift alone during bad weather, relying on trainees to help manage traffic, calling it “a terrible situation to be stuck in.”

With Thanksgiving just weeks away, one of the busiest travel periods of the year loomed on the horizon. Controllers warned that without resolution, travelers could face what one described as “probably the worst day of travel in the history of flight.” The shutdown had transformed a staffing crisis into a potential safety crisis, forcing a system already stretched thin to choose between managing traffic and protecting the public.