There is a pervasive sense of frustration and anger among the public directed at politicians, particularly regarding their perceived indifference during the ongoing government shutdown and its detrimental impact on air travel and essential workers. Many commenters call for immediate action and accountability, expressing safety concerns related to air traffic control and highlighting the disparity in treatment between lawmakers and regular citizens.

Republican Party

Democratic Party

Air Traffic Controllers

Federal Government

airport-codes

You’ll be fine. 

From my perspective of a pilot that flew out of a major airport just this morning, nothing feels different. Everyone is still working. 

Just alot more thank you for being here’s being thrown around.

UNDR08

Absolute insanity that air traffic controllers are working without pay.

Apprehensive_Cost937

There is no change in the safety of our airspace

Source I am a professional pilot

BeenThereDoneThat65

Safety is maintained on the uncompensated professionalism of people showing up to work, going to bed at night and trying to not find side gigs that cut into rest.

NeedleGunMonkey

Still incredibly safe. IMO, the larger safety issue has been present for years and will remain an issue for some time. That problem is staffing in general. Mandatory overtime. Six day, 10 hour shifts. And shifting shifts. Imagine going to work at midnight. The next day might be your (one) day off. Your next shift 6am, then another 3pm, etc etc. 

I am admittedly a bit of a princess about my sleep patterns, but that shift shit ain't healthy for anyone long term.

PutOptions

We're already seeing sporadic ATC shortages causing a few delays and ground stops, and TSA/CBP wait times creeping up due to agent shortages.

Those will only get gradually worse over time.    It's a federal felony for ATC staff to strike, but calling in "sick" more frequently than usual isn't really illegal either

TehWildMan_

I wouldn't fly to the US in the next 3 years period.

Sea_Gene2776

Depends how long it goes on for, but certainly possible.
Its being suggested that controllers may not get paid. 
People simply cant continue to do a job if theyre not paid. They might stick it out for a while, but sooner or later they'll need pay to continue.

New_Line4049

Federal employees at airports are already calling out, and it's already affecting flights. If the 2019 shutdown is any indication, delays and cancellations will get worse as these employees keep going without pay. Bear in mind that Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, is coming up in a few weeks.

[Reuters: White House warns government shutdown could lead to holiday travel meltdown](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-warns-flight-disruptions-may-increase-shutdown-continues-2025-10-23/)
&gt; Last week, air traffic control absences accounted for 53% of flight delays since the shutdown began, compared with 5% normally. This week, delays tied to absences have been much smaller, accounting for 1% on Monday and Wednesday and 21% on Tuesday, a USDOT official said.

&gt; In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, which put pressure on lawmakers to end that standoff.

[BBC: Flight delays in US to grow worse, transportation secretary warns](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy7xd5ej7ko)
&gt; On Sunday, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland.

&gt; Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an average of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the country, could experience problems from low staffing later in the day.

&gt; Strain on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training. It prompted several air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

tous_die_yuyan

Just flew into LAX from Osaka yesterday. No issues or delays. Customs was quick and painless.

mr_balty

ATC isn’t closed. They are considered “essential” so they still go to work.

theflyinfoote

Flown twice since the shutdown and forgot that there was a shutdown until this post.  Business as usual at JFK and PBI.  

Safety isn't the issue, it's delays and cancellations that I'd be more worried about.  But, right now the ATC and TSA agents are working without pay, god bless them.  Can you imagine the chaos if they walked off the job.  Probably send the country into a recession.

Grogu_Thisistheway

I flew through Atlanta yesterday and it was a normal day. It's fine.

biglefty543

Panic and people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Honestly, it's a lot of paranoia. Might be a few delays here and there. The last shutdown we were in, I haven't even noticed at the airport that there was one. I only noticed in NYC when the museums and tours to Elis Island were closed. That's about it.

2klau

I flew from JFK on the first day of the shutdown. I went through the D1 entrance, started to turn right to go through the private security, and a Delta employee told me I had 4 TSA choices, but because of the shutdown no D1 TSA. He said Clear was the quickest, and we were through in a few minutes, so no big deal. Hopefully you will have the same experience! I’d go a bit earlier than you might otherwise, just in case.

Suz626

I’ve flown through all of them and barely/if at all noticed. I seem to recall one of the shutdowns around 2017 or so did result in some long tsa lines for a minute.

I’m flying ATL-LHR tonight. Maybe I’ll show up a little earlier than I’d planned. If only there was a D1 lounge in Atlanta. 😞

Rich-Contribution-84

Had a connecting flight yesterday.
There wasn’t anyone working TSA, all the passengers just went to their gates without screening.
The pilot/first officer  informed us there was no ATC along the route so he/she decided to go anyways. Had two mid air collisions and one brush with a mountaintop. Drinks went everywhere and somehow the passenger 16 rows behind me ended up with my headphones. 
When we landed we had to stay on the runway, no way to taxi safely without ground personnel. Someone in the exit row pulled the door open with the slide. It was like being a kid again. Then someone yelled “Last one to baggage claim is a rotten egg” and everyone took off!
Landed about 17 hours ago, we’re still at the carousel waiting for our bags.

Fearless-Foundation5

I flew out of Vegas yesterday and it was completely normal. TSA pre check lines were open and it took maybe 5 mins.

Equivalent_Sock_3002

It’s not like this is the first government shutdown.  Just like the others you won’t notice much difference.

cstrick1980

Capable-Help6681

mountainaviator1

Rather than hypothesizing and worrying, I'd recommend looking up real-time historical statistics for each of your flights on a site like [FlightAware](https://www.flightaware.com/).

I wouldn't expect your trip to be very affected, since most of the trip is not really within the US.

abrahamguo

Hopefully you will be ok but remember next week is when tsa and air traffic controllers will be missing part of their first paycheck.

Angel2121md

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It’s very city dependent right now . I fly out of Boston and it’s been about 1-2 hour delays some airports are better some are worse. I’m flying a 35 hour flight Boston to Perth Thursday and praying I can make my connections .

Illustrious-Pea3523

I would not worry about it. Delays are very minimal if at all right now.

saxmanB737


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I’m flying this week and this is very reassuring.

MudSubstantial

bhejafry99

Thank you for the important work you do! And thank you to our ATCs.

Idahoebag

Thank you for posting this. I am so scared of flying. I am flying on 10/10 and it is my first flight with a layover and it is at night, so I've already been anxious but the shutdown has made it so much worse. But, this made me feel a little better.

Fragrant_Okra_3594

scoreguy1

bravogates

Posts like this give me hope for society and the internet; thoughtful and generous for those of us who need this type of reassurance. Thank you.

ydarbmot12

Thank you! Flying in a few days and this was just what I needed to see. I can always count on this sub.

coffeetimeyipee

Thank you so much for this. I am flying twice in the next month and the shutdown is making me so nervous. I’m probably going to be coming back to read this at least a few more times over the next few weeks.

EnthusiasticCandle

I’m glad I read this I just almost canceled my plane tickets but I’m gonna follow through

Afraid_Of_Life_41

Thank you for this! I’m flying alone with my toddler for the first time and was feeling really nervous

Pretty-Ad9371

Excellent post, RG80! I am flying on Saturday and have done a lot of work to feel as relaxed as possible about it. I can't wait to try and see how well these techniques work. Glad to know it's business as usual. See you in the air! 😃

IHearYouLimaCharlie

My flight isn’t until the 28th and I’m losing my mind of being scared of flying for one , and idk how much longer people can show up to work

Mb3x_

Thank you for this post. My family and I are supposed to fly next Wed &amp; then Sun and I was worried about getting home on Sun ok. Also started worrying about how safe it would be in the air. Really appreciated the last point (#6) you made becuase I did not think about that.

mzeep3

I fly tomorrow and really appreciate this post. Thank you so much!

Hour-Shirt-997

nunofyours1

&gt;If a staffing crisis occurs, you will see delays and cancellations, but NEVER a compromise in safety.

This actually made me feel a lot better

Educational_Mess_783

thank you, thank YOU. I am currently on a flight that is slightly delayed due to an issue (Pilot cabin door issue). so of course, my mind is running a million miles an hour!

opened Reddit, searched for @RealGentelman80 and found exactly what I needed. so grateful for your guidance and our little corner of this sub to provide support always!

AvailableCurrency565

i’m concerned if the secretary actually starts firing people

Significant-Move5191

flying tomorrow and i’m quite stressed! any words of affirmation?☹️ how are things looking?

Strong_Fee4134

Getting a connecting flight through the US in a few days, my biggest fear is the shutdown effecting the safety of the journey, reading this has really helped!

hriwifngi98

*"led to temporary ground stoppage in LaGuardia"*

*\*Me, taking a flight from Oklahoma to Laguardia later in October\**

:l

BlackLightJack

Do you think the collision with two passenger planes at LGA is connected to the shut down? I’m really tired of the fear mongering surrounding it

bottled-cherries

I am flying in 2 weeks for the first time in years. Isn’t it a legitimate concern that ATC going that long with uncertainty about their jobs/pay can create intense stress and mental toll? They’ve already been understaffed for a while now. 

moanit

So glad I saw this. Thanks for posting. Going to LGA in a couple of days and I’ve been freaking out even more than usual because of potential ground stops. More so worried about being there and not being able to get back home.

BballJen

thanks for this - have a flight on november 6th from geg to sea, then sea to dfw that ive been planning all year, hopefully the shutdown dosen't last until then but who knows. been having a lot of anxiety whether or not it'll be cancelled... but im trying to keep my hopes up. thank you guys for everything

hiphopperofthecentur

How are things looking at airports so far ? And how’s ATC been holding up ?

Feeling really bad for those affected
I’m pregnant and terrified of flying and this made my anxiety even worse but thanks for this post it helps

Leading_Blacksmith70

Tha you so much for posting this. I don't fly next until early December to Spain from the West Coast but with so much going on, my stress level, needless to say, is pretty high (who's isn't though at this point). Logically having had to fly during shutdown before, I know the wonderful ATC folks will make sure we're okay. However, it is so so helpful to hear from a professional in the field, their take, it helps keep the stress and anxiety part of my brain from overwhelming the logical part. So thank you for this and all of the posts helping folks work through their fears, stress, anxiety, etc... It is so beyond appreciated.


Cheers!

fuckingfucku

Hey everyone, how’s the AirPorts and everything been looking ?

Have a trip coming up next Wednesday (11/5) from DFW to MCO. I'm so nervous due to this, only because I feel so bad for the Controllers, and hope that no "mistakes" happen and that's what worries me the most. Obviously I'm already a nervous flyer but all the factors together doesn't help.

NotSoNormal_117

I’m late to the conversation, but I just wanted to say thank you for posting this for those of us (like me) who are currently afraid of flying. I’m flying in a little more than a week and recently heard in the news cycle people being concerned about the longer the shutdown does on, the risk of tragedy increases. 

I’m a frequent flyer but have never flown during a government shutdown. I wasn’t worried because the shutdown began over a month before I was scheduled to fly but now we’re getting close to when I do have to fly.

My biggest fear is not being in the air because I’m used to it, the fear I have is a miscommunication leading to a collision on the runway while taking off or landing.  

All of this is likely driven by my anxiety disorder, but are my fears worth worrying about?

CarsonC14

Signal_Brother_5125

i have a flight over seas in a week and i’ve been on the border of panicking for days. i came to this subreddit specifically for reassurance on this - thank you for this

duckybuttonx

First off, thank you to all the professionals and other contributors here. You helped this guy conquer (or at least manage) the fear a few years back, and I’ve flown a few times since then. 

Is anyone here able to give me an idea what to expect in terms of delays/cancellations this Saturday?  Flying frontier from PHL to MCO. 

Thanks.

headoutofthesand_

Welp I’m doing it today guys, hopefully a few good people can track me AA3187

I'm flying in two days, this really helped with some fear iw was having thank you. 


That said, I wish "excepted" meant they got paid regardless of the government shutdown. Such BS and so unfair to them.

Civil_Anybody1180

My flight is at the end of the month and I’m afraid people are gonna start calling out and stuff by then 😣

Phew... you know, I finally felt like I was getting better at flying, then saw a headline about the unmanned ATC situation at Burbank, which I'm flying into this week. Thank YOU so much for this forum and reassurance. Feeling better!

mmmeowww321

I wonder what happened in Burbank that they didn’t have any ATC in tower

Dangerous_Fan1006

I am flying out of DCA in less than 2 weeks (10/25) and, simply put, I am terrified. This shutdown doesn't help at all and is making this process *that much worse* for me to the point where I am almost debating if I should cancel the trip entirely. First time flying in over 6 years, too.

Reductate

eytottt

But I saw news that there’s been staffing shortages… I’m so terrified to fly a part of me wants to cancel my trip

They never had the threat of no back pay before. 

Vicsyy

Article on CNN said that the ATC president Nick Daniels said air travel is becoming less safe each day as this drags on 


We leave Tuesday (their first day without pay) and I'm hiding my tears from my husband. I'm scared. Our flight is early morning from O'Hare.


Sorry, I'm just scared 

pearpecan

The US government shutdown led to major disruptions in air travel, with thousands of flights delayed and cancellations occurring due to staffing shortages.

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