The Senate took its first major step Sunday night toward ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, voting 60-40 to advance a deal that could reopen the government within days. But even if lawmakers finalize the agreement this week, travelers shouldn’t expect an instant return to normal at the nation’s airports.
Flights have already been reduced at 40 of the country’s busiest airports to offset air traffic controller shortages, and experts warn those disruptions will linger long after the shutdown officially ends.
“There's going to be extensive disruption across the entire nation’s air transportation system,” Henry Harteveldt, and airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an independent travel analytics firm, told USA TODAY. And the consequences could last longer than the shutdown.
The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration directed a 10% reduction in flights at 40 airports, which started at 4% on Nov. 7.
“It's going to be a step-up, phased-in approach to cutting flights,” Harteveldt said. “It will start Friday with a 4% cut to flights ... and it will step up from there to 10%.”
