Air travel could be plagued by 'severe operating challenges' in long shutdown, but no immediate impact
Passengers arrive at the main terminal at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Air travel is not expected to be immediately affected by the government shutdown, say federal agencies and travel experts, but if the government deadlock keeps going, it could lead to delays due to staffing issues.
The majority of airport workers, including air traffic controllers and agents with the Transportation Security Administration are considered essential workers who must continue to staff airports during the government funding lapse, even if they are not being paid. But some are facing furloughs and absenteeism could escalate if the shutdown is prolonged, experts say.
"As the Port Authority is self-sustaining, a government shutdown will not impact our ability to operate our own facilities, like the airport terminals," according to a statement by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "However, as we saw in 2018-19, a federal government shutdown will affect federal workers who are essential to the functioning of the Port Authority’s airports — including TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and air traffic controllers — which could result in delays and severe operating challenges at the airports."
For now, airport officials said the shutdown has not yet led to any delayed or canceled flights at airports including Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, all of which had record air traffic in August.
Operations at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma have not been affected and the airport is facing no shortage of air traffic controllers or TSA agents, said MacArthur Airport Commissioner Rob Schneider.
MacArthur did not expect any canceled or delayed flights as a result of the shutdown, but Schneider said in an email, "We encourage passengers to arrive a bit earlier for flights to account for possible slower than normal screening at the TSA checkpoint."
The Federal Aviation Administration and the air traffic controllers union entered into an agreement last month for the shutdown to determine excepted employees and government furloughs. "Employees not on furlough are obligated to report to work," the union said.
The union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, posted a warning on their website that says: "NATCA does not endorse, support, or condone any federal employees participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS, or any other activities that undermine the professional image and reputation of the people we represent."
Katy Nastro, a travel expert based on Long Island, with the flight price-tracking app Going, said travelers should not face immediate delays. But she said past shutdowns have led to sick outs of unpaid federal workers, which can lead to delays or temporary flight stoppages. The last government shutdown in 2018 lasted 35 days.
"Long lines could occur the longer this continues. Anyone with domestic or international travel in the next week should be OK, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the unexpected," Nastro said. "If goes on for awhile, there could be real scenarios where people may have to rethink their travel plans."
The TSA posted on social media that 61,000 of the agency’s 64,000 employees are considered exempt from the shutdown. The remaining employees would be temporarily furloughed, officials said.
"While TSA is prepared to continue screening about 2.5 million passengers a day, an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports," the TSA said. "We kindly ask for our passengers’ patience during this time."
The Port Authority said it is working with other airport officials on contingency plans, including monitoring staffing levels at TSA checkpoints and customs, customer support in case of long waits and working with federal transportation officials.
The shutdown comes after record air traffic was reported in August, with 13.8 million passengers traveling between Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports marking its busiest month ever, and busiest Labor Day weekend on record logging 2.5 million passengers, according to the Port Authority.
Kennedy saw 6.2 million passengers in August while LaGuardia Airport had 3 million passengers on departing and arriving flights. The Port Authority saw a 2% decline in flight activity since the beginning of the year, totaling 95.4 million passengers
Long Island MacArthur Airport saw air traffic increase by 16% in August, compared to the same period in 2024. It also marked a 3% increase above pre-pandemic levels, according to the airport.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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