The US transport secretary Sean Duffy has ordered a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major US airports this weekend, pinning the decision on air traffic control safety concerns amid the shutdown, Reuters reports.
The shutdown, now the longest in US history, has left some 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents working without pay.
Reuters added Duffy's plan gave airlines just 36 hours to make significant changes to their schedules.
The standoff is amplifying staffing shortages, causing widespread flight delays and longer security wait times.
The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the Democrats, who say the Republicans are to blame for refusing to negotiate on key health care subsidies, to end the shutdown.
Duffy said the flights cuts could be reversed if Democrats agreed to reopen the government.
Newsweek on Tuesday (4 November) reported Duffy had warned there could be “mass chaos” across US airports.
As of the end of October, major US airports impacted by staffing shortages and delays included Orlando International, Dallas/Fort Worth and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Partial or complete closures have also been experienced at Boston Logan, Newark Liberty, Harry Reid International and John Wayne airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
What the trade is saying
TTG reached out to several US specialists, who said the shutdown was so far not having too much of an impact on UK and Irish customers.
Guy Novik, USAirtours founder and chief people officer, said while the operator has so far not had any international flights cancelled due to the shutdown, it has dealt with around 50 US domestic flight cancellations, adding they were relatively simple to rebook without causing much customer disruption.
"As predicted with this US administration, a prompt solution was never looking likely and we are preparing for the shutdown to continue for some time,” he said.
“Due to short staffing at Immigration, the delays have caused a number of missed connections, but we have been able to rebook all of them at a later time on the same day.
“Our duty office has taken twice the number of calls from customers than we normally do, but that was anticipated and we have staffed up accordingly. We are very experienced in dealing with these types of situation.”
Mary McKenna, chief executive of Tour America, said: “They [customers] might [experience delays] later on, but right now, nothing.”
Lisa Russell, travel director at Wanderluxe, said she hadn’t seen too much impact from the shutdown so far, but added there had been a small reduction in US enquiries.
(Credit: iStock / Leonid Andronov)
Travel Stop managing director Bridget Keevil, meanwhile, said her clients had been reporting only positive experiences from the US during the shutdown.
"There’s so much negative stuff in the media about how people aren’t going to go to the US due to the Trump effect, etc, but our customers who have gone – especially during the government shutdown – have been having a great time.”
She said due to a lack of staff, clients have been able to access national parks for free. However, she did note that some major attractions – such as Washington DC’s Smithsonian museum – are currently closed.
New York revival?
Meanwhile, Holiday Extras on Thursday (6 November) shared data showing Britons are now more willing to travel to the US after Zohran Mamdani (a Democrat) was elected mayor of New York.
The poll showed that 25% of 1,000 UK travellers would choose Mamdani's New York, while only 14% would likely visit the rest of Trump's America.
Since Donald Trump’s re-election as president, growing numbers of British holidaymakers have said they would avoid the US altogether. When Trump returned to office in November last year, 15% said they’d cancel their US travel plans, rising to 27% in this latest survey, conducted this November.
That said, international visits to the US are set to be lower this year than in 2024 due to the recent introduction of higher tariffs by the Trump administration, according to a leading global economic advisory firm.
Speaking at WTM London on Tuesday (4 November), Dave Goodger, Tourism Economics managing director, EMEA, argued travellers outside the US have been put off flying to the country this year and linked the tariffs imposed by President Trump earlier this year to the ongoing slump.
Tariffs are taxes on imported goods which are paid to the government by companies bringing the foreign products into the country.
Goodger revealed top line details from the WTM Global Travel Report 2025, which showed international visitor numbers to the US are expected to remain around 15% below 2019 levels this year.
