‘We won't let people travel': Officials warn as SFO delays pile up and national air travel crisis deepens
Travelers at San Francisco International Airport faced mounting flight delays Monday as the month-long federal government shutdown continued to ripple through the nation's air system, leaving control towers short-staffed. (Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle)
Travelers at San Francisco International Airport faced mounting flight delays Monday as the month-long federal government shutdown continued to ripple through the nation's air system, leaving control towers short-staffed and tempers flaring in Washington.
By late Monday, 112 flights were delayed and one was canceled at SFO, according to FlightAware. That followed 272 delays and six cancellations on Sunday, and 179 delays on Saturday.
Nationwide, more than 5,000 flights were delayed Sunday and nearly 2,900 by Monday evening, with about 70 cancellations reported.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, from right, speaks alongside Vice President JD Vance and Chris Sununu, president & CEO of Airlines for America, about the impact of the government shutdown on the aviation industry, outside of the West Wing of the White House, Oct. 30, 2025. Over the weekend, Duffy warned that if the situation worsened, "We won't let people travel." (Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the growing shortage of air traffic controllers is forcing the government to deliberately slow air travel to preserve safety.
"We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe," he told ABC News. "There is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that's doing two jobs instead of one."
Nearly half of the nation's major air traffic control facilities are operating below recommended staffing levels, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
With no end to the shutdown in sight, Duffy cautioned that "if the government doesn't open in the next week or two, we'll look back as these were the good days, not the bad days."
Controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers, who are deemed essential workers, continue to report for duty without pay. Many have begun skipping shifts or taking second jobs to make ends meet.
"None of them can miss two paychecks," Duffy said on CNBC's Squawk Box. "They all start - their home finances fall apart, and they're all going to have to look at taking second jobs or quitting and getting into another line of work. And the consequence of that is very real for our air system."
He added, "I'm trying to put more air traffic controllers into the system."
Travelers at San Francisco International Airport faced mounting flight delays Monday as the month-long federal government shutdown continued to ripple through the nation's air system, leaving control towers short-staffed. (Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle)
According to the Department of Transportation, staffing shortages accounted for 84% of all flight delay minutes on Sunday - a sharp increase from just 5% between January and September, before the shutdown began.
"You'll see more delays, you'll see more cancellations of flights," Duffy said, explaining that slowing air traffic is "a tool that we have to keep the system safe."
If the situation worsened, he added, "We won't let people travel. We're not there at this point."
The U.S. Travel Association joined the chorus of frustration Monday, urging Congress to end the shutdown before the Thanksgiving travel rush.
In a letter signed by 500 companies, including Hilton and MGM Resorts, the group called reopening the government "the fastest way to restore confidence and restart travel."
"Air travel's number one priority is safety, and while safety will be maintained, travelers will pay a heavy and completely unnecessary price in terms of delays, cancellations and lost confidence in the air travel experience," said Geoff Freeman, the association's president and CEO.
The letter cited 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers working without pay and said 3.2 million passengers have already faced disruptions as workers take on second jobs.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shutdown has cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, so far.
Freeman warned the impact is "growing by the hour," with six in ten Americans now reconsidering their travel plans.
Travelers at San Francisco International Airport faced mounting flight delays Monday as the month-long federal government shutdown continued to ripple through the nation's air system, leaving control towers short-staffed. (Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle)
"Americans are paying the price for Democrats' sick political games," the statement read.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have said they will not support a temporary funding bill with Republicans until an agreement is reached to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year's end - a lapse that could cause health care costs to double or even triple for millions of Americans who rely on the program.
