Copyright Men's Journal
The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1, marking the longest shutdown in history. The travel industry is feeling the strain with air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers sworking without pay resulting in staffing shortages that in turn led to widespread delays and flight cancellations. The good news is that there does appear to be an end in sight, but Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered a pretty clear warning about what could happen if the shutdown does not end soon. An End in Sight The government shutdown has put quite a strain on the travel industry over the past several weeks, but the longest shutdown in U.S. history does appear to be coming to a close. On Monday, a funding bill that would finally end the government shutdown in U.S. history passed through Senate after a 60-40 vote, sending it to the House final vote, which could end the government shutdown as early as Wednesday. During a press conference on Tuesday, Duffy indicated that this appears to have given air traffic controllers some hope. “Saturday, Sunday, Monday — very rough travel days, significant cancellations and significant delays,” Duffy told reporters via ABC News. “However, today has been a much better day. A lot more air traffic controllers are coming in. On Saturday, we had 81 staffing triggers. Today, we have four. So I think our air traffic controllers are seeing an end to the shutdown and feel more hopeful.” Not Out of the Woods Yet While there are obviously hopeful signs, Duffy warns that if the House does not vote to open the government, it could cause “massive disruptions” for air travel as soon as this weekend. “If the government doesn’t open, it is going to radically slow down,” Duffy said. “So the House has to do its work. And by the way, I am very hopeful. It seems like they’re in a good mood to come in and vote to open the government.” It’s worth noting that experts have warned that the travel industry will still feel some strain even if the House does vote to end the government shutdown on Wednesday as it could take a while to completely recover, especially heading into a busy holiday travel season. Still, a shutdown would be welcome. And as Duffy warns, failure to end the shutdown imminently could be disastrous.
