As Nashville airport travelers get set for holiday chaos, who is to blame?

Cheatham County resident Mark Meadors gave up traveling through airports during the holiday season years ago. 

“That’s been true for a long time for us. We don’t go traveling during the holidays. We go pre-holiday,” Meadors said. “We just gave it up not because of anything other than just it’s crazy on holidays."

This year, busy holiday traffic could kick off earlier than expected as overall air traffic capacity cuts begin on Nov. 7.

Airports across the country are grappling with hundreds of delays and cancellations, driven by a deepening air traffic controller shortage and the ongoing government shutdown.

Nashville airport officials said BNA will not be impacted by Federal Aviation Administration-issued flight reductions that are starting Nov. 7, 2025.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to cut 10% of air traffic across 40 U.S. airports starting Nov. 7. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the resulting "mass chaos" could extend throughout the duration of the federal government shutdown.

“We are going to work with the airlines to do this in a systematic way,” Duffy said.

That means that Thanksgiving and Christmas flights could become affected should the longest shutdown in U.S. history grow even longer.

"If this goes on with no pay and shortages, it will definitely impact holiday travel," longtime pilot and aviation consultant Ross Aimer said. "Every bit of relief helps, but unfortunately, 10% is not an answer. At some point we may have to literally shut down the whole system. It depends how long this goes on."

Heightening the decade-plus-long air traffic control shortage, hundreds of air traffic controllers have not been showing up to work throughout the government shutdown. Controllers are among the group of essential employees required to work without pay through the shutdown, though they will receive backpay once it ends.

"Both political sides are using this as a leverage point, but in reality, it’s the lives of passengers that we’re talking about," Aimer said.

"Pilots are worried about it. Airlines are worried about it. Even air traffic controllers themselves are worried about it. Nobody wants to be involved in an accident that is caused by air traffic controller shortages."

Who's to blame for the government shutdown, flight cuts?

Meadors left Nashville International Airport for the Bay Area to visit his daughter on Nov. 6. He said he’s carrying a “little bit” of anxiety around the FAA’s decree, but it’s not stopping him from taking the cross-country flight. 

Blame for the government shutdown and travel delays is falling on both sides of the political aisle, according to Nashville travelers.

The air traffic control tower at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.

“Hopefully I’m not in that situation where we aren’t able to get home," said Amber Johnson, who traveled to BNA from Minneapolis on Nov. 6.

"But I’m hoping that, you know, Trump can get the Democrats. Obviously, they’re the ones holding up the show."

While Aimer did not say whether Republicans or Democrats bear greater responsibility, he was clear on one point: air traffic controllers should not be blamed.

"No one should blame this on the air traffic controllers," he said. "Fatigue is a silent killer in a cockpit, and it's also a silent killer in a control tower. These fellows, they're calling out sick to prevent themselves from being a risk to others."

Other travelers expressed sympathy for those enduring understaffed conditions and working without pay.

As the government shutdown impacts travel times and flight cancellations, federally funded airport employees like Transportation Security Administration agents and air traffic controllers are working with no paychecks until the government resumes operations.

“I think my number-one concern is obviously the employees that aren’t getting paid right now,” Morgan Ginter said, a traveler from Chicago in Nashville for the weekend.

Meadors said it is unjust that federal employees are working without pay and said that the issue should not be politicized.

“They’re not supposed to be partisan, they should be able to do their job — a required job — and they should be paid,” Meadors said. “I’m not feeling good about it at all, you know, I feel for them, but they are just a drop in the bucket of the people that are hurting right now.”

Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at [email protected]. To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean.