HOUSTON — A Southwest Airlines pilot’s viral message to passengers is striking a chord with frustrated travelers across the country — and it underscores how deeply the ongoing government shutdown is disrupting air travel.

“I don’t really care what your political persuasion is, but you should really call your senator,” the pilot said in the now-viral video. “Because I’ll tell you, this is costing me — an airline — millions of dollars. And just think of 30 airplanes with one engine running. It’s going to take us at least 90 minutes to take off. So it’s frustrating, it’s really frustrating for me because right now it’s going to cost about two hours of our lives on the ground before we take off… spend all that gas, all that money… right now we’re at a 4 percent reduction.”

The clip, filmed b

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