Airlines and travelers alike are bracing for travel chaos if the government shutdown that began on Wednesday is not brought to an end quickly.
The U.S. Travel Association has warned lawmakers that a shutdown would not only cost the U.S. economy $1 billion per week, but also affect millions of travelers who rely on federal workers in airport security and in control towers.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that an “extended” shutdown will eventually “result in longer wait times at airports,” which is one of the few things Americans on both sides of the political aisle remain fully united against.
The vast majority of the 61,000 TSA workers, as well as more than 13,000 air traffic controllers, are required to work through the shutdown without pay, according to the Department of Transportation.
FlightAware, which tracks airline delays and cancellations, did not show a significant uptick in delays and cancellations on Wednesday. Security times at major airports, like John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, were also not exorbitant.
Staffing shortages could still arise later in the shutdown because workers who are not being paid tend to call out sick at higher rates, The New York Times reports—a practice that caused issues the last time the government shut down.
That impasse between lawmakers lasted from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, marking the longest period in history that the federal government was closed for business. Security checkpoints were forced to shut down lanes and funnel travelers into longer, slower-moving lines. Things got so bad at Miami International Airport that it was forced to shut down an entire terminal.
Travel headaches could extend beyond just inside airports, however.
Reuters reports that “an extensive shutdown could delay the FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and slow the $12.5 billion overhaul of air traffic control.” An extended shutdown would force air traffic control trainees at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City to be furloughed, delaying their entry into the workforce, where they are already needed so badly.
Also impacted are federally-paid employees at the National Park Service, who are not required to work without pay to the same degree as those in airport security. Nearly three dozen former park superintendents have signed a letter urging the Trump administration to close the national parks during the shutdown, citing the damage that occurred the last time parks remained open with limited staff to maintain order.
Smithsonian Museums in the nation’s capital, as well as the National Zoo, have pledged to remain open during the first five days of the shutdown. However, they have not guaranteed they will be able to stay open after Monday, should a funding agreement not be reached between Republicans and Democrats.
Geoff Freeman, chief executive of the U.S. Travel Association, has pleaded with Congress to strike a deal that will keep America moving.
“The longer a shutdown drags on, the more likely we are to see longer TSA lines, flight delays and cancellations, national parks in disrepair, and unnecessary delays in modernizing travel infrastructure,” he said in a statement.
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