Travelers collect their bags or wait in lines for rental cars in the baggage claim area at the Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Springs, California, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.
People arrive for Delta flights inside the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.

WASHINGTON – Travel woes become the latest poster-child for the longest government shutdown in history, as airlines cancel hundreds of flights and advocacy groups warning of a $5 billion loss the travel industry – and counting.

The chief executive of American Airlines said the growing cancelations will be “problematic.” An advocate for airports said airline travel is “reaching a breaking point.” And the U.S. Travel Association created a ticker tabulating the cost of the shutdown to the industry, which rattled along Nov. 7 above $5 billion.

"There's no political party that will win if Thanksgiving gets completely screwed up because of their politics – everybody loses," said Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, an advocacy group for companies with 2.7 million travelers on 27,000 flights daily. "They better get their act together and figure this thing out."

Travel is one of the most visible industries harmed by the shutdown. Furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers drew attention to lost services such as at national parks. The threatened elimination of SNAP food benefits sparked an outcry about low-income families going hungry.

But gridlocking travel at airports – while eliminating untold business trips and vacations – is highly visible, especially with the holidays approaching. The group Airlines for America said in a statement Nov. 7 that 3.5 million passengers had flights delayed or canceled because of air traffic control staffing concerns.

"This simply is not sustainable," said the group, which anticipates an all-time high of 31 million passengers over the Thanksgiving holiday period from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1. "We implore Congress to act with extreme urgency to get the federal government reopened, get federal workers paid and get our airspace back to normal operations. Time is of the essence."

Kevin Burke, CEO of Airports Council International-North America, said Nov. 5 that “we are reaching a breaking point, and the current trajectory is unsustainable.”

Congress remains in an impasse after 38 days about how to fund the government. Essential workers, such as about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers, have continued to work without paychecks.

But mounting absences raise safety concerns.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered airlines to reduce their flights starting this weekend. The announcement served as both a warning about how the pain will escalate if the shutdown continues and as a reason to advocate for reopening the government.

“This is not political,” Duffy told Breitbart news organization on Nov. 7. “We have worked overtime to make sure we minimize the impact on the American people.”

Duffy ordered a 4% reduction of flights starting Nov. 7, which rises to 6% on Nov. 11 and 10% on Nov. 14 if the shutdown continues. He said the cancelations could cost airlines tens of millions of dollars.

"This level of cancelation is going to grow over time and that's something that is going to be problematic," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told CNBC on Nov. 7.

The leaders of the four largest U.S. airlines – American, Delta, Southwest and United – met without result Oct. 30 with Vice President JD Vance at the White House to highlight the need to end the shutdown. But the announcements of flight cancelations shine a spotlight on the problem.

American said it was cutting 220 flights each day from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10. United canceled more than 180 flights Nov. 7, nearly 170 on Nov. 8 and nearly 160 on Nov. 9. Southwest canceled 120 flights Nov. 7 and expected fewer than 100 on Nov. 8.

Airline passenger Sandy Humes told Reuters that she almost canceled her trip because of uncertainty about flights.

"I'm just sick of it," Humes said. "I'm like, What about us?"

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First SNAP. Now flight cuts. Pressure mounts on Congress to end shutdown

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect