Copyright Staten Island Advance
Emmy Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin travels often for his job. He shoots movies and TV shows in various locations; appears at film festivals and promotional events; and supports charities, including his family’s Baldwin Fund in Syracuse. Alec and his brother Stephen Baldwin both attended the 2025 Carol M. Baldwin Annual Gala, named after their late mother, at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown on Friday night. The fundraiser event supports cancer research at Syracuse’s Upstate Medical University and the Baldwin Fund’s $50 million campaign to help the Upstate Cancer Center achieve National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. But after the gala, Alec Baldwin had trouble getting home to his wife Hilaria and their seven children together in New York City. He said on Instagram that his flight from Syracuse was canceled Saturday, and another flight was delayed on Sunday. Baldwin said he decided to rent a car and drive from Syracuse to NYC, but not before sharing some travel tips during the government shutdown. “I’ve been at the airport for an hour and a half. They want me to wait another two hours before they decide whether they’re gonna take off,” Baldwin said Sunday from inside his rental car at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. “I want to say this to everybody which is: Whatever you do during this shutdown, don’t fly... in or out of a major airport.” Baldwin did not specify which NYC airport he was headed to, but flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and others have been reduced due to the federal government shutdown. Air traffic controllers were required to work without pay during the shutdown, and some have stopped showing up to their jobs. The Associated Press reports 1,500 flights were canceled Saturday, more than 2,900 flights were canceled Sunday, and another 1,600 flights were canceled early Monday. Flights to both JFK and LaGuardia airports were canceled Monday morning, according to the Syracuse airport website. “Don’t fly. It’s a complete waste of your time,” Baldwin continued, encouraging viewers to take a train, bus or car. “I don’t know what to say, but it’s like this is a nightmare. I’m here in Syracuse. I fly in and out of here all the time I used to fly here constantly when my mother was alive.” “Until the shutdown is over... don’t fly,” Baldwin added. According to the Associated Press, airports are also seeing significant delays even for flights that aren’t canceled. Experts say that even if the shutdown — now in its record 41st day — ends this week, it could take time for flights to get back to normal after the government reopens. The FAA implemented a 4% mandatory reduction in flights over the weekend to manage staffing. That will increase to 6% on Tuesday and 10% by this upcoming weekend, according to the AP. President Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday” that additional flight cuts of up to 20% might be needed. “More controllers aren’t coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck,” Duffy said. “As I look two weeks out, as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel, I think what’s going to happen is you’re going to have air travel slow to a trickle as everyone wants to travel to see their families.” Baldwin is known for roles in “30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Departed,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “The Boss Baby,” “Beetlejuice,” the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and an Oscar-nominated performance in “The Cooler.” In 2023, he received the Sophia Award from the Syracuse International Film Festival.
