House Vote Poised to End Shutdown, though Flight Cancellations Expected to Linger

The longest-ever government shutdown, a nightmare for the travel industry, is expected to come to an end on Wednesday. The House is likely to vote on legislation that would effectively conclude the 42-day shutdown.

The bill, if passed by the House and signed by the President, would fund the government at least through January 2026. This offers the travel industry a substantial reprieve before it would hypothetically face another shutdown threat.

While travel was not the only industry hit, it was stretched further each day, particularly by the impact on the air travel system. The shutdown meant that Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees were working without pay. The longer paychecks were missed, the more workers called out, pushing an already-beleaguered air traffic system to its brink.

While the good news is that the shutdown should come to an end this week, it’s not all clear skies for travel. Cancellations will last into the end of the week, at the very least, as ATC crews take time to recover and get back on track from callouts and some retirements during the shutdown.

Tuesday was yet another day of pain at many of the nation’s airports. According to FlightAware, close to 4,000 flights were delayed, and another almost 1,300 were canceled on Tuesday. The worst airports for passengers on Tuesday were:

• LaGuardia (LGA): 12% of its schedule, more than 70 flights, canceled
• Chicago O’Hare (ORD): 5% or 65 flights canceled
• Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL): 5% or 60 flights dropped

The shutdown is ending right before that pain could have turned into disaster. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that if the shutdown did not end this week, delays and cancellations would go past the 10% cuts the FAA mandated last Friday, possibly forcing airlines to ground planes “altogether.”

“That’s how serious this is,” Duffy said.

Just as the FAA and airlines ramped up cancellations—from 4% on Friday, up to 6% at the beginning of the week—the expectation is that the return to normalcy will follow the same ramp-down: going from 6% to 4% to 2% and eventually zero FAA-mandated cuts.

Travelers should still be aware that their plans could be impacted over the next few days. As of 7 a.m. EST on Wednesday, cancellations had already started across the U.S.

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Denver International (DEN) both had more than 40 flights cut from their schedules.

Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), Boston Logan (BOS), and LaGuardia (LGA) were all also reporting at least 4% cancellations, according to FlightAware.

Airlines remain flexible, too, with most extending waivers through at least Wednesday.