As the government shutdown enters its second week, Americans traveling by air are facing mounting delays and cancellations at airports nationwide, with no immediate end in sight. The shutdown, which began on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, after Congress failed to pass a funding bill, has triggered a cascade of disruptions across the country’s busiest transportation hubs. As lawmakers remain deadlocked over health care subsidies, the fallout is being felt acutely by travelers and the workers who keep the nation’s skies safe.
According to The Independent, major airports from coast to coast are struggling with flight delays caused by staff shortages. Essential federal employees, such as air traffic controllers, are still required to work during the shutdown, but the lack of funding has created a “pain for Americans taking to the skies.” On Tuesday night, Nashville International Airport faced average delays of more than two hours, while Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport experienced a ground delay averaging about 40 minutes. Flight tracking site FlightAware reported more than 3,000 flight delays on Tuesday alone—a figure echoed by Nexstar Media Inc., which placed the total number of affected flights at roughly 10,000 across Monday and Tuesday.
“As [Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy said, there have been increased staffing shortages across the system. When that happens, the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told The Independent. The agency’s approach, while necessary for safety, has led to a ripple effect of delays and cancellations. By Monday evening, the FAA was reporting staffing shortages at Burbank, Newark, and Denver airports, according to FOX Television Stations. The worst problems were in Burbank, where California Governor Gavin Newsom said no controllers were on duty during the evening, resulting in average delays of two and a half hours.
The impact is not limited to passengers. The Department of Transportation announced that over 13,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown, alongside Transportation Security Administration workers, as they are considered essential. Secretary Duffy highlighted the mounting stress on these workers, noting that controllers are now worried about how to pay their bills in addition to keeping flights safe. “Controllers are expected to continue working without a paycheck, so they are now worried about how to pay their bills in addition to worrying about keeping flights safe,” Duffy said, as reported by FOX Television Stations. There has already been a small uptick in controllers calling out sick in a few places, further exacerbating delays.
Lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned that the situation could spiral into chaos reminiscent of the 2019 government shutdown. That 35-day stalemate ended after air traffic controller absences caused major delays, including a ground stoppage at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and disruptions at multiple East Coast airports. “It becomes a pressure point,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Nexstar Media Inc.. “You talk about disruptive—if air travel shuts down and all the air traffic controllers are sick, you basically have shut down the economy.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), whose state saw issues at Denver International Airport this week, echoed the concern. “I certainly worry about it. I think it is one of many things that is complicating having a government shutdown,” he said. While the current troubles have not yet reached the levels seen in 2019, delays have been reported at airports in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Nashville in recent days, and more than 1,000 flights have been canceled during this shutdown period.
The political standoff at the heart of the shutdown centers on the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. Congress increased federal subsidies to help people purchase insurance policies on the ACA exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic, boosting enrollment to a record 24 million people. Democrats are demanding action to extend these subsidies now, as Americans begin receiving notices of higher policy rates for the new year, while Republicans insist that negotiations on health insurance can wait until after the government reopens. The upper chamber showed no signs of movement Wednesday, with Democrats voting for the sixth time against the GOP’s “clean” stopgap spending measure that would fund the government through late November.
Behind the scenes, clusters of lawmakers from both parties are engaged in informal talks, searching for a way out of the impasse. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) described these discussions as “pretty productive,” though he declined to offer specifics. Some senators remain optimistic that the economic pain caused by escalating air travel problems could force a resolution. “Of any of the factors that led President Trump in 2019 to, ‘We’ve got to solve this,’ it was the air traffic control issue,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told Nexstar Media Inc.. “It wasn’t the air traffic controllers saying ‘we’re overworked and underpaid,’ it was the economic issue that made Trump realize, ‘Oh wait, we need to have vigorous aviation or the American economy doesn’t work.’” Kaine added, “This one is really serious and he grasped that six years ago. I think there’s a good chance he’ll grasp it again.”
Yet others are skeptical that even widespread air travel chaos will be enough to break the current deadlock. One Senate Republican told Nexstar Media Inc., “I think they’re too hunkered down. The difference is that in the past, [it] has been, kind of, hardball that was only pitched out of one corner. This administration is wired for a fight.” The lawmaker added, “They may be erroneously banking on that pressure being what breaks the logjam. I don’t necessarily see it.”
As uncertainty clouds air travel, other transportation providers are stepping up. Flix North America CEO Kai Boysan told FOX Television Stations, “As travelers face continued uncertainty with air travel, we want people to know they still have dependable options.” Greyhound and FlixBus are seeing strong early bookings heading into the holiday weekend. “Our teams are prepared to accommodate anyone needing a reliable and affordable way to reach their destination. Situations like this highlight the important role intercity buses play in enabling connectivity and providing people with affordable and reliable transportation when other modes of long-distance travel are not available or get disrupted,” Boysan said.
Meanwhile, tensions on Capitol Hill continue to simmer. On Wednesday, a confrontation erupted between Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) over Obamacare, underscoring the deep divisions that have left the government at a standstill. Republicans, who hold the majority in Congress, believe they have the upper hand politically as they fend off Democratic demands to quickly fund health insurance subsidies as part of any plan to end the shutdown. Democrats, on the other hand, are convinced that Americans are on their side in the fight to prevent looming health care price spikes and are blaming former President Trump for the shutdown.
For now, travelers can only watch and wait as the shutdown drags on, hoping that political pressures or economic realities will soon force a breakthrough. Until then, the nation’s skies—and the people who depend on them—remain caught in the crossfire of a bitter political battle.
