The longest shutdown in US history is slowing down air traffic

Dispute over household

The longest shutdown in US history is slowing down air traffic

Every year at the end of November, millions of Americans travel to visit their families for Thanksgiving. Now the deadlocked budget dispute in Congress threatens to thwart many people’s holiday plans.

The partial standstill of government business in the USA is increasingly having an impact on air traffic. According to the website “FlightAware”, more than 1,000 flights within the USA, into the USA or out of the USA were canceled on Saturday afternoon (local time). Almost 4,400 other connections were delayed.

According to NBC, the hardest hit was Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. In second place was Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, through which many travelers come to New York.

Because Democrats and Republicans in Congress cannot agree on a budget, regular government operations are largely paralyzed. Many federal employees are currently not paid a salary. Programs that provide food to low-income households are under pressure. Processes at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and ground staff at airports are also affected.

The FAA initially wants to reduce flight movements by around four percent, but by the middle of the month it could be up to ten percent. Almost 1,000 flights were canceled on Friday. Many outages are currently being cushioned because the machines are not fully booked in the off-season. Still, airports reported long lines and delays.

In its travel advice for the USA, the Federal Foreign Office now expressly points out possible delays in security checks, customs clearance and airport processing. Travelers should allow more time and find out about the status of their flight. In addition, numerous national parks, museums and historical sites are currently closed or have limited access, it said.

Republicans and Democrats accuse each other of allowing the population to suffer for political reasons. However, both parties are likely to monitor public sentiment closely. Polls currently show that a majority of Americans blame US President Donald Trump and his Republicans for the shutdown.

In the United States, partisan political conflicts are regularly resolved over the budget. The current dispute is about cuts in the healthcare system. The Democrats are demanding that the Republicans reverse the cuts. These were part of a major tax law that is one of Trump’s central political projects. The Republicans would therefore be reluctant to give up parts of it a few months after it was passed.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Platform X that flights for medical transport, emergencies and law enforcement would be given priority. At the same time, like the Trump administration as a whole, he blamed the Democrats for the situation and called for them to put pressure on their members of Congress.

The Senate – one of the two chambers of Congress – met for an unusual session on Saturday, and a quick agreement is considered unlikely. Trump signaled on his Truth Social platform that he was not prepared to compromise and called on his party to take a similarly hard line.