Could a Government Shutdown Wreak Long-Term Havoc on Air Travel? We Asked Pete Buttigieg

30.09.2023 - 14:45 / cntraveler.com / Long

Time is ticking for lawmakers in Congress to strike a budget deal and avoid a government shutdown, although chances of coming to an agreement in time are looking increasingly bleak. If a shutdown does happen on October 1 at 12:01 a.m., all non-essential government functions would cease, and the air travel system would be stretched to its limit, with air traffic controllers and TSA officers essentially working without pay.

The chances of nationwide flight disruptions would also grow each day the government is closed for business. “The longer a shutdown goes on, the more problems you’re going to see, and this is exactly why Congress should do the right thing and prevent it from happening in the first place,” says US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

But there could also be long-term effects on the air travel system that would take weeks, months, or even years to recover from. At risk are issues like the worsening of the current shortage of air traffic controllers and the disruption of efforts to modernize technology to help ease flight delays and cancellations.

“Over time, you will see more and more effects on your flight, on your travel, because this is putting the system under enormous unnecessary strain,” says Buttigieg.

Condé Nast Traveler sat down with Buttigieg to find out exactly how the shutdown could have long-term impacts on the nation's air travel system.

In addition to not receiving paychecks during a shutdown—which itself could cause delays—air traffic controllers face long-term, systemic consequences should the government halt non-essential operations. Mainly, the training academy in Oklahoma City would be closed. That means vital reinforcement staff who have been hired to alleviate a current shortage of ATC workers, would be held up.

“We’ve got a gap that has built up over many years, and we’re finally headed in the right direction to close that gap,” Buttigieg says. The department has hired 1,500 air traffic controllers so far this year, but disruptions in their training would mean that their entry into the workforce would also be delayed. “It’s really important to keep up your current experience, so even a shutdown lasting a few days would be so disruptive that it would set us back into next year in terms of the progress we’ve been making on the staffing and the hiring,” he adds.

So instead of ameliorating the current shortage, a shutdown could exacerbate it. “If we don’t have enough staff, we could face a shortage, and that could lead to cancellations and delays,” Buttigieg says. “So this affects not just controllers but really the entire traveling public.”

The FAA’s work to modernize archaic technology that has caused major flight delays in the past will be halted in the