Copyright Men's Journal
Air travel is already hectic enough during the holiday season, but American Airlines warns that things could be a lot worse this year if the federal government shutdown continues into the holiday season. Last month, the federal government officially shut down after Congress was unable to agree on appropriations bills that finance the operations of federal agencies and programs within the government. Since then, the airline industry has been feeling the strain with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and air traffic controllers working without pay, leading to staffing shortages that will only get worse as the shutdown stretches on. The staffing shortages caused by the government shutdown have already led to delays and canceled flights all across the country, and American Airlines is concerned about what could happen if the shutdown doesn’t end before the holiday season. Airline Industry Feels the Hurt Airports across the country have been hit with staffing shortages as many TSA officers and air traffic controllers have resorted to other part-time jobs to make ends meet while they work without pay. “Just yesterday, we had 22 staffing triggers. That’s one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system since the shutdown began,” Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week. “And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin.” Duffy warned that these staffing shortages will lead to more delays and cancellations. “My job is to keep the airspace safe. And so, if I don’t feel like I have enough controllers or enough controllers that are focused, we will slow down traffic, we will stop traffic,” Duffy said. American Airlines Issues a Warning This week, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom was in attendance at a meeting of industry leaders and Vice President JD Vance to discuss the impacts of the government shutdown on the airline industry. In a statement to Fortune this week, American Airlines called it “unacceptable” that air traffic controllers have been forced to work without pay for over a month and warned about The airline called it “unacceptable” that air traffic controllers have continued to work without pay and warned about what it could mean if the government shutdown stretches into the holiday season. “Congress needs to reach a bipartisan agreement to re-open the government as quickly as possible to pay our air traffic controller, [Transportation Security Administration], and [Customs and Border Protection] colleagues,” the airline told Fortune in a statement. “The quickest way to end this shutdown and get these workers paid is by passing a clean continuing resolution. A prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations—and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better.” This sentiment was echoed by some recent comments made by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who issued an ominous warning about what could happen if the shutdown doesn’t end soon. “If the government doesn’t open in the next week or two, we’ll look back as these were the good days, not the bad days,” Duffy warned.
