Daily Voice
By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that parts of US airspace could close as the federal government shutdown is expected to become the longest in the nation's history.
Duffy issued the warning during a news conference at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 4. More than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers have been ordered to work without pay since the government shutdown began on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Federal workers missed their first paycheck in late October and will miss another on Friday, Nov. 6, marking a full month without pay.
"The longer this goes on, every day, these hard-working Americans have bills they have to pay, and they're being forced to make decisions and choices," said Duffy. "Do they go to work as an air traffic controller, or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, to put food on their table [or] to put gas in their car? As every day goes by, I think the problem is going to only get worse, not better."
Between noon and 4 p.m. on November 4, FlightAware recorded at least 565 flight delays nationwide, including 101 at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Dozens were reported at Reagan National Airport due to a temporary ground stop caused by a bomb threat at the airport in Arlington, Virginia.
Continuing the Trump administration's partisan attacks on Democratic members of Congress, Duffy said there would likely be "mass chaos" if the shutdown continued for another week.
"You will see mass flight delays, you'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it because we don't have the air traffic controllers," he said.
The US Department of Transportation hired 2,000 new controllers earlier in 2025 to address shortages, but Duffy warned the shutdown threatens to reverse that progress.
"These young people have a choice to make: do they want to go into a profession where they can have a shutdown and they cannot be paid?" he said. "That's affected our pipeline."
Transportation Secretary and Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy speaks to NASA employees at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2025.
The warning came one day after the US Travel Association and nearly 500 travel organizations urged Congress to end the shutdown before holiday travelers flock to airports.
"With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers, and economically devastating to communities in every state," the group said in a letter.
The organizations also said the shutdown has cost the travel industry more than $4 billion, with the losses growing "significantly with each passing day."
"A shutdown places extraordinary strain on federal personnel who are essential to keeping America moving — from Transportation Security Administration officers to air traffic controllers, who are forced to work without pay," the letter read. "When staffing shortages worsen, airport wait times grow longer and flight delays and cancellations become more frequent, threatening to derail family travel plans across the country."
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has also called for an end to the shutdown, saying the ongoing pay lapse creates "substantial distractions" for its members.
"For this nation's air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans," union president Nick Daniels said in a statement on Friday, Oct. 31. "Asking them to go without a full month's pay or more is simply not sustainable. During the shutdown, these professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nation's passengers and cargo while many are working 10-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay."
The shutdown's effects have rippled far beyond airports.
After a judge's order, the Trump administration announced that only partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments would be issued in November. It's unclear when the roughly 42 million Americans on SNAP will receive their funds.
Congress has failed to reach an agreement on a stopgap bill to fund the government. Senate Democrats opposed the House-passed spending plan, pushing for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and seeking to reverse Republican-passed Medicaid cuts.
The expiration of federal Obamacare subsidies is expected to make health insurance premiums skyrocket for millions of Americans. Republicans argue that the federal government should be reopened before starting negotiations.
The US Travel Administration said more than 20 million people took flights in the US over Thanksgiving week in 2024.
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