Transportation Secretary Warns of “Mass” Flight Cancellations if Government Shutdown Continues

The U.S. government shutdown is now officially the longest in history, and the stress it is causing on the travel industry, most notably the air travel system, is barreling toward a breaking point.

On Tuesday, those problems continued, with triple-digit delays reported at LaGuardia (LGA), Reagan National (DCA), Newark Liberty (EWR), Boston Logan (BOS), and Chicago O’Hare (ORD). More cancellations are likely on tap for Wednesday, too—the FAA says that ground stops or delays are possible in San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Boston (BOS), JFK International (JFK), and Newark (EWR).

It’s not just flight delays and cancellations at risk, either. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said this week that travelers going through Houston airports on Monday saw wait times of more than 75 minutes at security because of staffing issues at TSA.

The issue for the travel industry, which called for an avoidance of the shutdown prior to its start and has since consistently called for an end to it, is how long it continues and how much damage is done before it ends.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday during a news briefing in Philadelphia that if the shutdown lasts another week, the FAA will be forced to close more airspace, causing “mass cancellations” because of a lack of air traffic controllers.

Duffy has said time and again that the FAA will opt for shutting down airspace instead of allowing planes to fly in unsafe conditions, and that is likely to snowball as air traffic controllers continue working without getting paid.

The concern is heightened by the timing of the shutdown, too, with what’s typically the busiest travel period of the year—the Thanksgiving Holiday week—just a few weeks away. On Wednesday morning, Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controller Association (NATCA), told CNBC that “I can’t even predict” what that week would look like should the shutdown last into the holiday week.

“Three hour TSA wait times will be the least of our worries,” he said.

Kentucky Cargo Plane Crash

The government shutdown is not yet being blamed for a crash at Kentucky Airport (CVG) on Tuesday night.

A cargo plane from UPS, UPS Flight 2976, bound for Hawaii, crashed mid-takeoff just after 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and injuring 11 more. Officials said late Tuesday night that an investigation team would arrive Wednesday morning to investigate the crash. No word on its cause as of Wednesday morning.

The crash, and explosion, sent burning wreckage into buildings close to the airport, and forced the airport to shut its doors to inbound and outbound traffic. As of Wednesday morning, the airport and its runways were reopened, but officials were still warning passengers to check with their airline and flight status before coming to the airport.

“Any traveler scheduled to depart from or arrive to the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) tomorrow, November 5, should closely monitor their flight status as delays and cancellations are likely following today’s aircraft incident involving UPS flight no. 2976. The airfield is expected to be available for passenger and cargo operations tomorrow,” CVG said on Wednesday.