US flights at risk: Government shutdown enters 23rd day; White House warns of travel disruptions

The Trump administration and Republican congressional leaders on Thursday cautioned that air travel disruptions are likely to worsen as the government shutdown enters its 23rd day, leaving federal workers without pay.
Around 13,000 air traffic controllers and roughly 50,000 TSA officers are required to work despite the shutdown, with controllers set to miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday.

"We fear there will be significant flight delays , disruptions and cancellations in major airports across the country this holiday season," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

"If Democrats continue to shut down the govt, they will also be shutting down American air travel."

US flight disruptions may worsen
"I can't guarantee you that your flight will be on time. I can't guarantee you that your flight's not going to be cancelled. It's going to depend on our air traffic controllers coming into work every single day," US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a Capitol Hill press conference, urging controllers to keep working.

Last week, air traffic control absences accounted for 53 per cent of flight delays since the shutdown began, compared with five per cent normally. This week, delays tied to absences have been much smaller, accounting for one per cent on Monday and Wednesday and 21 per cent on Tuesday, a USDOT official said.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, we are nearing the busiest travel period of the entire year, when millions of Americans will use airports to travel to see their loved ones.

Let us be very clear from the White House: if the Democrats continue to keep the government… pic.twitter.com/XsqADBG7oz

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 23, 2025

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Federal Aviation Administration does not have existing resources to pay air traffic controllers and called on Democrats to pass legislation to reopen the govt.

Democrats want Republicans to approve new healthcare subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act to keep premiums for Americans from soaring as a condition of reopening.

Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, which put pressure on lawmakers to end that standoff. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.

Senate blocks bills to pay federal workers during government shutdown
The bill sponsored by GOP Sen Ron Johnson, the Shutdown Fairness Act, failed to secure the 60 votes required to advance in the Senate, with the final tally standing at 54 to 45.

Democrats contended that the bill grants the president excessive discretion in determining who receives payment during a shutdown. On Thursday, Sen Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) opposed a request from Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for the Senate to promptly consider and pass a bill ensuring payment for all federal workers, members of the military and federal contractors during the 2025 govt shutdown.

It was one of two Democratic-sponsored bills aimed at compensating federal workers during the shutdown that Johnson dismissed on the floor. The True Shutdown Fairness Act, presented by Van Hollen, would also bar the Trump administration from implementing mass layoffs of federal workers during the shutdown, such employee restructurings known as reductions in force.

Meanwhile, the Military and Federal Employee Protection Act, introduced by Sen Gary Peters (D-Mich.), would enable all military service members, federal employees and contractors to receive the wages they have missed to date during the shutdown, though it would not provide payments beyond the enactment date of the measure. Johnson obstructed both measures, asserting that they were too intricate to be approved by unanimous consent.