Senate moves toward ending shutdown as travelers deal with major flight disruptions

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned the ongoing shutdown could make the U.S. economy “get worse and worse” as the holiday season approaches, potentially affecting Christmas.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, Bessent said the “human cost” of the shutdown may continue to grow. “But on the other side, there’s also, cargo is being slowed down,” he said. “So, you know, we could end up with shortages, whether it’s in our supply chain, whether it’s for the holidays.”

“Cargo and people are both being slowed down here. And that’s for safety’s sake,” he added.

Bessent also noted, “We had a fantastic economy under President Trump the past two quarters. And now there are estimates that economic growth for this quarter could be cut by as much as half, if the shutdown continues.”

Varun Gupta, professor of logistics and business analytics at the University of North Georgia, also confirmed to ABC News that about 10 percent of U.S. cargo moves by air.

Delivery giant FedEx told The Independent : “Contingency plans are in place to flex our integrated air and ground network to help protect time-sensitive, critical shipments such as lifesaving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other products move through our network without disruption,” a spokesperson said.

A pilot’s in-flight announcement has gone viral after he urged passengers to take action amid the government shutdown.

“I don’t really care what your political persuasion is, but you should really call your senator,” he said over the airplane speaker and while on the runway at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.

“I’ll tell you, this is costing the airlines millions of dollars. And just think of 30 airplanes with one engine running, it’s gonna take us at least 90 minutes to take off,” he said.

The video, shared to TikTok Sunday shows the pilot addressing passengers before the flight was set to head to Dallas, Texas and as they waited for takeoff clearance.

He explained how the shutdown was already affecting air travel and warned that the impact would worsen.

“It’s frustrating, it’s really frustrating for me, because right now it’s going to cost about two hours of our lives on the ground before we even take off, spend all that gas, all that money.

"And it just rolls into the rest of the system,” he added. “There are 30 planes in front of us on the runway,” the pilot said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a new order Monday, restricting private and business jet flights at 12 of the busiest U.S. airports.

The move aimed to ease pressure on air traffic control as a Senate deal advances efforts to end the government shutdown.

According to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the restrictions will impact travel through major hubs including Dallas–Fort Worth International, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, and John F. Kennedy International airports.

“Last week, restrictions were announced on all aviation operations, including general aviation, at 40 U.S. airports,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen in a statement on Sunday.

“Today, further restrictions were announced that will effectively prohibit business aviation operations at 12 of those airports, disproportionately impacting general aviation—an industry that creates more than a million jobs, generates $340 billion in economic impact, and supports humanitarian flights every day," he said.

“Safety is the cornerstone of business aviation, and NBAA is fully committed to ensuring the safety of the NAS,” Bolen added.

David Zipkin, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Tradewind Aviation, also told Forbes that the restrictions are already creating a “domino effect” at nearby airports.

“Flights are spilling over into reliever airports and overburdening them. This also happened last summer when the Newark airspace staffing shortage caused overflow issues at Westchester,” he said.

“Our teams are proactively assisting clients with alternate charter routing and scheduled flight changes as needed,” Zipkin added. “We are currently offering free changes for anyone affected.”

The government shutdown continued to wreak havoc on U.S. air travel Monday with some of the nation’s busiest airports hit hardest, according to The Associated Press.

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) saw roughly 11% of flights canceled, while Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) experienced about 6% cancellations, leading to widespread delays.

Newark Liberty (EWR) and Reagan Washington National (DCA) also faced serious staffing-related disruptions, per The Associated Press.

Data from FlightAware also confirmed the scale of the chaos in that through 6 p.m. EST, there were 7,582 flight delays and 2,214 cancellations nationwide.

La Niña winter has arrived ahead of schedule as a dangerous lake-effect snowstorm moved through the eastern Great Lakes, creating brief periods of whiteout travel conditions, as Chicago and other parts of the Midwest and Northeast saw their first snow of the season.

The National Weather Service has warned of "dangerous to impossible travel conditions due to intense lake-effect snow" that will cripple travel due to greatly reduced visibility.

Winds could gust up to 30 mph with these heavy lake-effect snow conditions, especially near the Lake Michigan shoreline.

The National Weather Service team in Chicago also warned that this lake-effect snowstorm could become "a very dangerous and life-threatening situation beneath the most intense and stationary lake-effect snow bands."

Those snow bands brought traffic across parts of Interstate 57 south of Chicago to a halt early Monday morning. Commuter Grace Butler told FOX Weather that her car was in standstill traffic for more than an hour, amid near-zero visibility and several crashes.

This is an excerpt of an article by Hayley Vawter, FOX Weather

As the Senate prepares to vote on a deal to end the government shutdown, Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared optimistic that the legislation would move through and bring relief to federal services and especially airports.

“Everybody asks who won, who lost? Well, the American people are going to win because services, you know, get back up and we’ll start being able to keep airports open and air traffic controllers paid,” Graham told reporters. “I’m glad this is ending.”

Graham also said he’s confident the House will act quickly, noting, “The president's for it and if the president's for it I think it can get through the House. You know I think it's a good deal for the country," he said.

President Trump told reporters Monday that he supports the tentative bipartisan agreement being finalized in the Senate to reopen the government.

Asked if he backed the proposal , Trump replied, “They want to change the deal a little bit but I would say so. Based on everything I’m hearing they haven’t changed anything. And we have support from enough Democrats, and we’re going to be opening up our country.”

The president added, “It’s too bad it was closed, but we’ll be opening up our country very quickly.”

The measure would end the shutdown by funding several key agencies for a full year and approving a short-term continuing resolution through Jan. 30 to maintain operations for the rest of the government.

Thousands of miles from the stalemate in Washington D.C., the effects of the government shutdown are being felt around the world. While President Donald Trump found a way to temporarily pay U.S. troops — others on base aren’t so lucky, including teachers and support staff.

Donna Irwin, a substitute teacher at a naval base in Italy, says the impact is deeply felt. "It has been absolutely terrible to watch and the morale at the school, I mean it’s low," Irwin said.

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) operates 161 schools in 11 countries, seven states and two territories across 10 time zones. Nearly 900,000 military-connected children live worldwide, 67,000 of whom are enrolled in DoDEA schools and served by more than 14,000 employees.

In a statement, DoDEA’s communications operations chief Jessica Tackaberry told Fox News that they remain "committed to providing a world-class education" and that they "understand the difficulties this situation may create for our dedicated educators and staff who are working without pay. DoDEA is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide guidance and support to employees as needed."

Athletics and co-curricular activities are also considered excepted activities at this time.

Irwin considers herself lucky that her husband is still getting a paycheck as a sailor, but with half their income on hold, they’re cutting back. She says that even when the government reopens, repayment can still take a while.

"Especially out here, you feel forgotten because we are here to support that mission — as DoD contractors, as spouses and family members of the service members,. You know, these bases, these installations — they really don’t function without us, without our vital jobs and our support," she said. 

This is an excerpt of an article by Stephanie Bennett.

As the government shutdown drags into its sixth week, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has warned of significant economic fallout.

Speaking to Fox News, Hassett said, “Right now I think our Council of Economic Advisors estimate of how much harm there is to GDP is it's probably gonna cost us one to one and a half percentage points of the fourth quarter."

Hassett emphasized that while this slowdown is serious, it may not push the economy into contraction. “That doesn’t mean we’re gonna get a negative quarter,” he explained.

“But if we had two or three more weeks, especially if it ran into Thanksgiving, we probably would have had a negative quarter.”

“If you get two negative quarters in a row, that’s the R word. So it’s really great that we’ve dodged this bullet," he added.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is exacerbating the already dire situation at control towers across the nation, a retired air traffic controller said.

While the Federal Aviation Administration said it will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 high-volume markets to maintain safety amid the shutdown and ongoing air traffic control staffing shortages, Stephen Abraham, who worked as a controller at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for over two decades before retiring, said the move is more like a Band-Aid to prevent a meltdown.

"It doesn't solve the crisis, it just prevents a complete meltdown," said Abraham, who said staffing hasn't been adequate in decades.

"They're really overworked. They're fatigued," Abraham said.Air traffic controllers are classified as essential workers, meaning that they are required to keep working even when the government isn’t funding regular operations.

They’ve now gone more than a month without a paycheck.

Stress and fatigue rise because controllers are already working long hours with staffing shortages, and now they’re worried about bills and financial survival, which means some may call out sick or take unscheduled leave – not necessarily out of protest, but because they’re exhausted, mentally strained or dealing with financial hardship.

"If you don't sleep real well, I'm not going to work the next day," he said.

"It's really just that simple because you can't mail it in. It just doesn't work in that profession. You can't mail it in… every day has to be an ‘A’ day. You don't get ‘B’ days."And with no back-up staff, it's creating "an untenable situation," Abraham said.

This is an excerpt of an article by Daniella Genovese.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told FOX News Monday that flights would be “almost back to normal” by Thanksgiving weekend.

His statement suggested the airline industry might recover in time for one of the biggest travel periods of the year, following major disruptions caused by the government shutdown.

The shutdown led to staffing shortages, delayed security screenings and grounded operations at several airports creating nationwide travel chaos.

Hassett’s remarks could reassure people that recovery efforts are in motion and that the administration expected air travel to stabilize as federal workers return.

It's day 41 of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and Congress is moving toward a deal but still faces hurdles before the government can reopen.

According to CBS News , Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes to hold a final vote on the legislative package “in the very near future,” possibly as early as Monday.

The bill would extend government funding through January 2026 and includes three-year-long appropriations measures.

Eight Democrats had crossed the aisle in Sunday’s vote, winning a promise for a separate December vote on extending health care tax credits. This is a concession that has divided Democrats, with a group of moderates enabling the chamber to reach the 60 vote threshold to advance the bill.

The House, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, had also ordered all 435 members back to Washington for a potential vote later this week.

Once both chambers approve the bill, it will go to President Trump's desk for him to sign, upon which the shutdown will officially end.

If the government shutdown isn’t resolved soon, Thanksgiving air travel could mirror the turmoil one Detroit Free Press reporter experienced first hand on two harrowing Delta flights between Detroit and Phoenix.

Frank Witsil said his trip began with a five-hour delay, an hour on the tarmac, and a passenger who gave up during midflight boarding with a cat in tow.

"In my case, the flight to Phoenix last Thursday was already delayed five hours, one hour on the tarmac. It was too much for one passenger, who was traveling with a cat, and exited the aircraft at the last minute," he said.

The return was worse as it included a canceled flight, long rebooking lines and a restless overnight wait in Phoenix’s terminal where families slept on the floor beside scattered luggage.

When his plane finally landed in Detroit at 8:20 a.m. amid the chaos, airport workers showed remarkable patience.

"The ticketing agent rebooked me on a direct flight and said, "'I’m sorry.' I appreciated the contrition," Witsel said.

"It didn’t put to rest the uneasiness of being stuck at the airport without compensation or abate the uncertain feeling of wondering whether there would be more delays. It also meant I had to wander the Phoenix airport for hours," he added.

When Congress ends the government shutdown, travelers will experience backlogs and thousands of canceled flights that won't be resolved overnight, experts say.

"Airlines have to consider the flow of aircraft and crew when they cancel flights,” Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean for research at the David B. O'Maley College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University told USA Today.

Rebuilding schedules is also a complex process involving aircraft, crew and passenger connections across the entire network one expert said.

"There's going to be extensive disruption across the entire nation’s air transportation system," Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group also told the outlet.

Major hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles will experience longer layovers and limited flight options for weeks.

American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour on Monday shared a letter with staff members that warned the coming days will continue to be challenging for air travel despite real progress being made in Congress to end the government shutdown. 

Seymour thanked team members for their hard work over the weekend, during which he said the airline saw nearly 1,400 cancellations and more than 57,000 delay minutes attributed to air traffic control – impacting nearly 250,000 customers. 

“I won’t mince words: This weekend’s operation was incredibly challenging for our industry, for our customers, for our airline and for you, our team members,” he said in the letter. 

Seymour said the airline has taken steps to mitigate disruptions for customers and crew sequences. 

“However, given the unpredictable operating environment we’re in,” he wrote, “we expect there will be continued cancellations and delays in addition to the FAA-required reductions.” 

Seymour said his team in talks with government leaders in Congress and have urged lawmakers to reach a deal immediately.

“There was concrete progress last night on a deal, but there are many steps ahead, and the next several days will continue to be challenging,” Seymour said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday thanked those air traffic controllers who have worked throughout the ongoing government shutdown, vowing that he’d work with Congress to see that their dedication to the job is rewarded. 

Duffy’s post came as the government shutdown hit the 41-day mark, and air traffic controllers received their second zero-dollar paycheck.

“To those who have worked throughout the shutdown — thank you for your patriotism and commitment to keeping our skies safe,” Duffy wrote. “I will work with Congress to reward your commitment.” 

Duffy did not immediately specify what kind of “reward” would be on the table. 

President Donald Trump earlier posted on social media that he would recommend a bonus of $10,000 for those air traffic controllers who took no time off throughout the shutdown. 

Duffy also agreed with Trump’s calls for all traffic controllers to return to work. 

“I agree @POTUS. Air traffic controllers NEED to show up for work!” Duffy wrote.

Former Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, now CEO of Airlines for America, warned that it “could still be a bit of a bumpy week” for air travel despite the Senate’s first steps toward reaching a deal to end the government shutdown. 

Sununu made the remarks during an appearance on “America’s Newsroom” on Monday morning when asked about Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s revelation that 15-20 air traffic controllers are retiring each day. 

“There’s no doubt that there’s going to be some long-lasting effects,” Sununu said. “And Secretary Duffy is right, we’ve lost hundreds of controllers since this whole thing started. They put a lot of money into getting folks certified, into equipment and all that, but because of the actual shutdown, unfortunately, we’ve taken a pretty hard step back. So that’s going to take some time to build.” 

Sununu praised the eight Democratic senators , specifically New Hampshire Democrats Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, who crossed the aisle to vote in favor of a House-passed continuing resolution Sunday night, a major step toward ending the government shutdown. 

“They really led a lot of these other Democrats,” Sununu said of Shaheen and Hassan, adding, “They said, ‘Look, the American customer has to come first.’”

The consequences of the ongoing government shutdown aren’t about politics or budgets, according to National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Nick Daniels, who says the “real fallout” pertains to a potential slide in public safety as air traffic controllers must now focus on surviving without pay instead of their work. 

Daniels spoke to reporters during a press conference on Monday, the first time in history that air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals received their second zero-dollar paycheck as the government shutdown stretched into its 41st day. 

“If you want to know what the real fallout of this shutdown is, it's not a budget line,” he said. “It is the smallest and the most dangerous shift of all. When the most disciplined safety workforce in America is forced to think about survival instead of public safety. This is the cost.” 

Daniels said many air traffic controllers are continuing to show up to work – even working overtime, in some cases – despite not getting paid. He detailed how the workers are now facing additional stress on top of the already demanding job due to not getting paid. 

“But now they must focus on childcare instead of traffic flows. Food for their families instead of runway separation,” Daniels said. “This is not politics. This is not ideology. This is the erosion of the safety margin.” 

Daniels called on Congress “act immediately” to reopen the government, saying “enough is enough.” 

“Now history will remember who is responsible for the shutdown,” he said. “The public and media will debate who won. But we all know who carried the weight of it and who has to pick up the pieces when it finally ends.” 

“It's us, the federal workforce, that has been the rope in this game of tug of war,” he continued, calling on Congress to ensure compensation for all those who have not been paid during the prolonged shutdown.

President Donald Trump on Monday pressured air traffic controllers to return to work amid the ongoing government shutdown or else be “substantially docked." 

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,’” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country,” the president’s post read. 

Trump then scolded those who stopped showing up for work. 

“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” read the post. “You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country.”

Trump threatened to replace them with “true Patriots” and “NO payment or severance of any kind” should they leave service in the “near future.” 

Trump again thanked the air traffic controllers who have showed up throughout the shutdown, saying, “I won’t be able to send your money fast enough!” 

Monday marked the first time in history that air traffic controllers went two pay periods receiving zero-dollar paychecks.

Airlines have already canceled or delayed over 2,000 flights as of Monday morning due to the ongoing government shutdown and the FAA's recent order to scale back air traffic. 

According to data from Flightaware.com, flight cancellations across the U.S. piled up to 1,540 as of 7:30 a.m., with flight delays so far totaling 1,142. 

U.S. airlines canceled more than 1,500 flights Saturday and more than 2,900 Sunday to comply with an FAA order to reduce traffic as some air traffic controllers, who have gone unpaid for nearly a month, have stopped showing up for work. 

The FAA implemented a 4% mandatory reduction in flights this weekend to manage staffing. That will increase to 6% on Tuesday and 10% reduction by this upcoming weekend. 

The delays and cancellations are likely to get worse as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday” that additional flight cuts of up to 20% might be needed. 

“More controllers aren’t coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck,” Duffy said. 

Airlines are increasingly unable to reposition planes, pilots and flight attendants due to the air traffic controller shortage. 

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

The Pentagon’s offer to lend the Transportation Department air traffic controllers from the military reserves could help mitigate American’s current air travel pain, though would only be “a patch, not a fix,” according to a retired military official. 

Retired Lt. Col. Darin Gaub was asked about the government shutdown's impact on air travel and about Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s offer to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during an appearance on “Fox & Friends First.” 

“It worked in the past,” Gaub said of the potential deployment of military air traffic controllers at airports. “[President Ronald] Reagan did it when he broke the air traffic controllers strike in the ‘80s. So this is not a new thing. It’s happened before.” 

Gaub said he’s had military air traffic controllers work under his command, noting that they receive the same training as air traffic controllers on the civilian side, in addition to training specific to the military. 

Despite the similar training, Gaub said “you can’t just flick a switch and have them operate immediately,” and would still need to be familiarized and trained with certain airspaces. 

Gaub said the potential use of reservist air traffic controllers all depends on whether Congress reaches a deal to reopen the government in the coming days. 

“It seems unlikely to have to use the military controllers, but you could put reservist military controllers in some of these smaller airfields all over the country virtually immediately and have them operate,” he said. 

Gaub added: “It’s a patch, it’s not a fix. But it could help, it’s been proven to help in the past. And we know this is at least a viable option.”

Over 2,100 flights were canceled on Sunday due to the ongoing government shutdown and the FAA's recent order to scale back air traffic, according to The Associated Press.

The cancellations, which impact 40 U.S. airports , were reported by the AP at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday. The outlet also reported 7,000 additional delays on Sunday.

More than 1,500 flights were canceled Saturday, following over 1,000 flights that were canceled Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest conservative caucus in the House of Representatives, warned of worsening travel issues on Sunday amid government shutdown-related airport chaos.

The committee, which is chaired by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, published an X post on Sunday detailing "thousands of flights [being] canceled across the country."

"At Atlanta’s airport, normally the world's busiest airport, 18 of 22 air traffic controllers didn’t show up for work," the committee's post read. "With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, the chaos is only going to get worse."

The RSC then accused Democrats of "using the shutdown as political leverage against the American people."

"Enough is enough," the post concluded. "It’s time to reopen the government."

In a social media post Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of "playing politics" over the government shutdown and the travel-related issues that have arisen from it.

In the X post, Duffy argued that the New York senator "voted 14 times to keep the government closed."

"14 times he refused to pay air traffic controllers," Duffy's post said. "14 times to keep Americans’ flights delayed. 14 times to use public pain as leverage. And then he says every day gets better!"

Duffy also attached a video of a recent CNN clip where he explained his reasoning for reducing flights and air traffic controllers.

"I have more complaints coming into the FAA from pilots who are saying that air traffic controllers are not as responsive, they seem stressed, or they're not using the appropriate language because they're under pressure," the official said.

"So I look at that data. That came from the safety team, and the trend line is going in the wrong direction. So I need to take action and make sure that we keep people safe."

In a Nov. 7 X post, Schumer blamed Republicans for the shutdown and said that "the ball is in their court."

"Democrats made an offer to Republicans to re-open the government and extend the ACA tax credits for one year," wrote Schumer. "We’re calling their bluff."