WASHINGTON – Travel woes become the latest poster-child for the longest government shutdown in history, as airlines cancel hundreds of flights and advocacy groups warning of a $5 billion loss the travel industry – and counting.
The chief executive of American Airlines said the growing cancelations will be “problematic.” An advocate for airports said airline travel is “reaching a breaking point.” And the U.S. Travel Association created a ticker tabulating the cost of the shutdown to the industry, which rattled along Nov. 7 above $5 billion.
"There's no political party that will win if Thanksgiving gets completely screwed up because of their politics – everybody loses," said John Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, an advocacy group for companies with 2.7 million travelers on 27,000 flights daily. "They better get their act together and figure this thing out."
Travel is one of the most visible industries harmed by the shutdown. Furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers drew attention to lost services such as at national parks. The threatened elimination of SNAP food benefits sparked an outcry about low-income families going hungry.
But gridlocking travel at airports – while eliminating untold business trips and vacations – is highly visible, especially with the holidays approaching. The group Airlines for America said in a statement Nov. 7 that 3.5 million passengers had flights delayed or canceled because of air traffic control staffing concerns.
