Despite the Senate advancing legislation to bring the record-long government shutdown to an end, do not expect air travel to immediately revert back to normal.
The 42-day funding lapse, which has caused air traffic controllers to miss two consecutive paychecks as of Tuesday, has led to chaos at airports nationwide. Controllers have missed work at significantly higher rates than before the shutdown began, with some even taking on second jobs.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told host Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that roughly “15 to 20” controllers are retiring per day amid the shutdown. Prior to the funding stalemate, roughly four controllers were retiring daily, he noted.
“It’s going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace,” Duffy added. “So, this is going to live on in air travel, well beyond the time frame that this government opens back up.”
The staffing shortages led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reduce flights by 4 percent at 40 “high traffic” airports starting last Friday. The restrictions rose to 6 percent at 6 a.m. Tuesday, with increases to 8 percent and 10 percent set for Thursday and Friday, respectively.
So far Tuesday, nearly 1,200 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been cancelled, with over 680 such flights delayed, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware. Over 2,400 trips were canceled on Monday, the final full day of 4 percent reductions.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, over 800 flights within, into or out of the country have already been cancelled. Multiple airlines, after receiving the directive from the FAA last week, pledged to provide customers with advance notice of flight cancellations.
FAA restrictions on private flight operations at 12 major airports also went into effect on Monday. National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen said in a statement Sunday that the limitations would “effectively prohibit” private flights at the airport.
Once the shutdown ends, air traffic controllers will receive back pay, as required by federal law. However, it is unclear how long that will take.
In 2019, when the most recent shutdown ended after 35 days, controllers did not receive full back pay until over two months later, National Air Traffic Controllers President Nick Daniels told The Associated Press.
Monday evening, the Senate passed a measure to reopen the government, sending it to the House. If it passes the lower chamber, the proposal will then head to President Trump’s desk.
