A lone traveler passes through a nearly deserted TSA security screening area at Orlando International Airport ahead of the landfall of Hurricane Milton on October 9, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.
Pablo Hennessy | Anadolu | fake images
A government shutdown is looming just as the peak holiday travel season begins.
Lawmakers are deadlocked and on Thursday rejected a short-term bill, which was backed by President-elect Donald Trump, to continue funding the U.S. government. A shutdown could begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday if an agreement is not reached.
Hundreds of thousands of government employees would be laid off if Congress does not pass a spending bill.
What does this mean for air travel?
Commercial airliners are still scheduled to fly, even with the possibility of a shutdown.
Airlines are forecasting the busiest year-end holiday season on record. The Transportation Security Administration expects its agents to screen more than 40 million people during the holidays through Jan. 2. united airlines It only expects to transport 9.9 million people between December 19 and January 6, 12% more than last year.
The Government considers the more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and nearly 60,000 TSA agents essential, so they would continue working, although they would not be paid during the closure.
Prepare for longer lines?
TSA agents “would continue to work without pay in the event of a shutdown,” agency administrator David Pekoske said Thursday on social media platform X.
“While our staff has been prepared to handle high volumes of travelers and ensure the security of our transportation systems, an extended closure could mean longer wait times at airports,” the TSA said in a statement Friday.
What happened last time?
The last time the government shut down, it lasted more than a month, from late 2018 to early 2019.
Calls from some air traffic controllers in the highly congested airspace along the East Coast of the United States paralyzed air traffic during that closure. Then-President Trump and lawmakers reached a deal shortly afterward to end the shutdown, the longest funding lapse in the United States.
The congestion has irked airline leaders. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration is once again left without a permanent administrator after FAA chief Mike Whitaker, appointed by President Joe Biden last year, said he will resign on January 20, when Trump takes office. .
Modernizing air traffic control and hiring more controllers should be the priority of the next FAA administrator. Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC earlier this week.
