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U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is raising fears of aviation meltdowns that could impact Thanksgiving travelers, if Congress doesn’t end the federal government shutdown. “I don’t want to be Chicken Little to you,” Duffy said during a briefing Tuesday at O’Hare International Airport. “If the government doesn’t open, if the House doesn’t do its job, I’ve had questions about ‘What happens for Thanksgiving?’ I’m going to tell you, we are not going to get to Thanksgiving.” Major disruptions could conceivably hit this weekend, he noted. To counter absences by air traffic controllers who are going unpaid, the Federal Aviation Administration reduced flights by 4% starting Nov. 7 at 40 U.S. airports, including O’Hare and Midway International Airport. They raised that to 6% Tuesday. The result has been thousands of cancellations, and the reductions are scheduled to ramp up to 8% by Thursday and 10% by Friday, absent a reprieve. Air travel “is going to radically slow down,” Duffy said. The U.S. Senate reached a deal Sunday to end an impasse that started Oct. 1 but the shutdown remains in place as House members return to Washington, D.C. As of Monday evening, both O’Hare and Midway had experienced more than 720 cancellations. In the same time frame Tuesday, that number was just 155. “I think the air traffic controllers are seeing an end, and feeling more hopeful,” Duffy said. However, assuming the House votes to end the shutdown, returning the aviation system to normal isn’t a simple matter, with complicated logistics that include airline staffing and backlogs. “We are going to look at the data and make the best decisions possible to keep the traveling public safe,” Duffy said. He also supported President Donald Trump’s intention of giving air traffic controllers who hadn’t missed work bonuses. And, Duffy said, he is concerned about the dedication of controllers who took consistent sick days during the shutdown. The situation is challenging to manage, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby noted in a message to employees. “Last week’s FAA directive to cut flights during the government shutdown, which we supported, came without much notice and our team sprang into action – by the end of the day Thursday we had already cut hundreds of flights scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Kirby said. “And many of you worked through the weekend as we planned additional cuts for this week.” https://www.dailyherald.com/20251111/transportation/aviation-dysfunction-could-spill-over-to-thanksgiving-with-no-fix-duffy-warns/
