I booked a fall trip back in August, long before anyone could have predicted that a federal shutdown would disrupt air travel.
The trip itself started smoothly enough as my outbound flight connected through Chicago O’Hare, one of the airports the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had already flagged for potential reductions. We were delayed by just an hour, and I remember thinking we’d gotten lucky.
That luck ran out on the way home.
A Sudden Cancellation Before Departure
On Monday, just a few hours before departure, I received the notification no traveler wants to see: the flight has been cancelled. Our airline had insisted that schedules were “confirmed through November 12,” but that didn’t hold. Every connecting flight to Chicago was suddenly off the board.
The reason? The FAA’s directive to cut flight capacity by up to 10 percent at 40 major airports as staffing issues escalated during the now 43-day-long federal government shutdown.
Scrambling for a Way Home
United Airlines offered us a refund waiver, acknowledging the cancellation was connected to those mandated reductions. We scrambled to rebook through Delta, connecting via Atlanta instead.
That airport was also under the FAA’s reduced-capacity order, so we didn’t relax until the plane was actually in the air. The Delta flight left late, as the crew had just arrived from another delayed route, and we finally got home about three hours late.
At TSA, we overheard employees discussing quietly that they were still not being paid. It was a moment that made the headlines feel painfully real.
Inside the FAA’s Flight Reduction Order
The FAA’s order wasn’t a surprise to those following the crisis. Since the shutdown began on October 1, 2025, thousands of air-traffic controllers, inspectors, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have been working without pay.
According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, many have been logging six-day workweeks under mandatory overtime, with some simply unable to keep showing up. Fatigue is the reason the FAA ordered airlines to reduce schedules in key markets as a safety measure to ease pressure on a thinning workforce.
In a joint statement, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the move was “necessary to preserve system stability amid mounting stress.” Airlines have been instructed to trim service at hubs including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
A System Under Strain
Industry analysts say the current crisis exposes long-standing cracks in the aviation system. Even before the shutdown, the FAA was short more than 3,000 controllers. Training new ones takes years, not months, so a prolonged shutdown only worsens the problem.
As of this week, more than 5,000 flights have been cancelled since Friday, with another 2,000 delayed, according to the Associated Press.
What This Means for Travelers
For travelers, it adds up to a frustrating equation: fewer flights, thinner staffing, and very little predictability. Airlines can only do so much when the government agency responsible for controlling takeoffs and landings is understaffed and unpaid.
From my own small corner of that chaos, standing in the rebooking line, watching flights vanish from the board, the system’s fragility was on full display.
We eventually made it home, and for that, I’m grateful. But it’s clear the aviation system is stretched to its limits.
Alexandrea Sumuel Groves is a Travel Journalist, Yahoo! Creator, MSN Partner, Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association member, and the founder of Wander Worthy. She covers vacation destinations, travel news, and tourism trends.
