Partial shutdown of United States of America The government began work at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, as the United States Congress somehow missed a funding deadline, and the airline industry is trying to avoid an air-traffic downturn. Carriers, primarily through airlines to the U.S., want legislation that would keep paying air traffic controllers and Federal Aviation Administration security staff even if appropriations expire.
They’ll argue that the record shutdown of 43 days last fall showed how quickly pay disruptions become operational challenges. Controller absenteeism continues to increase, and the FAA has cut back flights at 40 airports, affecting millions of passengers as a result. It’s no surprise that the FAA is short thousands of controllers, and airlines would say there is little buffer in the system to withstand another shutdown shock.
What are the new developments regarding airlines?
Airlines are currently responding to the government’s shutdown warning with concrete requests. They want additional FAA funding to be allocated through the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, both of which would use aviation-system funds to keep essential FAA workers paid during funding gaps. A panel of the House of Representatives unanimously supported the concept DecemberAnd the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has publicly highlighted airline support for the solution, according to Reuters.
The timing of the decision also matters, as the shutdown began early Saturday morning as the House was remote while the Senate was moving forward on an agreement. The fight is over funding of the Department of Homeland Security and immigration-enforcement restrictions. Even if the lapse is small, airlines argue that the system cannot absorb another round of controller fatigue, overtime and cash-flow shocks. As a result, it has become abundantly clear that airlines consider it necessary to pay controllers well as well as ensure that the towers are appropriately staffed at all times.
Previous shutdowns had massive impact on controllers
The last shutdown, which occurred between October and November 2025, quickly exposed how fragile essential jobs become when wages stop being paid. Controllers continued to staff towers and centers, but funding did not stop completely. Most controllers received a partial pay check on October 14, and then a $0 pay check on October 29. This was of grave concern to the controlling workforce who were already working mandatory unpaid overtime.
As the shutdown extended, fatigue and stress increased over time and absenteeism also increased as some employees used leave to call in sick. Citing safety as a major concern, the FAA and transport department ordered a temporary reduction of about 10% in flights at 40 high-traffic airports across the country, a process that took several days. Airlines and airports thus tried to soften the blow with food and other assistance for unpaid aviation workers at major hubs.
This disruption still rapidly spread across different schedules. Industry figures later reported that millions of passengers were affected by thousands of cancellations and delays. This is an outcome that became more likely because the FAA was already thousands of controllers short of its key staffing goal.
Cancellations and delays pile up as US government shutdown enters 30th day
Thousands of flights are being delayed every day, while flight cancellations range from a few hundreds to over a thousand.
What does this mean for the industry now?
Today’s government shutdown may be short, but aviation’s warning is about limits. Once a lack of funding turns into a default in salary payments, the air traffic control system can suddenly shift from busy to unsafe very rapidly. Airlines have not asked Congress to remove the most predictable trigger for controller absences during the shutdown, which is working for weeks without pay. Passing such a bill would mean that the FAA would not be placed in a position where it must again choose between service and safety.
If lawmakers fail to act and the funding gap persists, carriers will see the same playbook return with staffing strains, targeted flow restrictions and mandatory schedule cuts at major hubs. This will also include knock-on effects throughout the network. Also, salary protection isn’t everything.
The FAA is still thousands of controllers below staffing targets, and the hiring and training pipeline is moving at an increasingly slow pace. In the near future, Congress could take steps to freeze wages in the shutdown, then deal with the staffing and modernization debates so that the next crisis doesn’t start with a calendar deadline.
