MW How the government shutdown and TSA could delay your flight

By Claudia Assis

Past shutdowns led to 'avoidable safety challenges'

The line at a TSA checkpoint at the Miami airport a few years ago. The longer this year's shutdown grinds on, the more likely problems will appear.

Air-traffic controllers and many Transportation Security Administration employees, including airport screeners, are classified as essential workers and will continue to work during the shutdown. That doesn't mean that all air travel will be smooth.

That's because the essential workers won't get paid until the shutdown is over. During the 2018 shutdown, which lasted 34 days, many of those workers took sick days and or other actions that affected air travel.

Related: The U.S. government just shut down. Here's what it means for you and your money.

Past shutdowns have led to staffing shortages and "avoidable safety challenges - consequences we cannot afford to repeat," the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said.

The longer the shutdown continues, the more likely problems will appear.

According to the Transportation Department's contingency plan, roughly a quarter - or around 11,000 out of nearly 45,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees - are furloughed.

Some 26,000 FAA employees, for instance, are classified as "necessary to protect life and property," while others are paid through other funds or are needed by law.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said that a shutdown "adds unnecessary distraction" to air-traffic controllers' work, "adding strain on a workforce that is already stretched thin working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, operating the most complex airspace in the world."

During the last shutdown, many controllers had to take second jobs, resulting in stress and fatigue, the union said.

And among the personnel furloughed are aviation safety professionals, including aircraft certification engineers and aerospace engineers.

"Critical safety support, operational support, and modernization work will stop," and ongoing upgrades to air-traffic control systems will pause, the union said.

A U.S. airline trade group echoed that sentiment: "This shutdown threat is coming at a critical moment," just as Congress approved $12.5 billion to modernize the "antiquated" air-traffic-control system, amid efforts to boost hiring, and as record numbers of travelers are screened through TSA checkpoints, Airlines for America said.

TSA said last month it screened nearly 10.4 million travelers during Labor Day weekend, a record and a 3.3% year-over-year increase.

"When federal employees who manage air traffic, inspect aircraft and secure our nation's aviation system are furloughed or working without pay, the entire industry and millions of Americans feel the strain," the trade group said.

Airline stocks were mixed on Wednesday amid broad equity-market weakness, with shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. $(JBLU)$ and United Airlines Holdings Inc. $(UAL)$ trading lower while shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. $(DAL)$, American Airlines Group Inc. $(AAL)$ gained. The U.S. Global JETS ETF JETS was up a fraction.

-Claudia Assis

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October 01, 2025 11:26 ET (15:26 GMT)

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