Staff shortages are causing challenges for air travelers throughout the U.S. due to the government shutdown.
On November 1, staffing shortages were disrupting air travel at 35 air traffic control sites, The New York Times reported.According to Bloomberg,air traffic delays were starting to “pile” up due to staffing concerns. ABC News referred to air travel as “chaos.”
- According to Flight Aware, there were more than 1,100 delayed flights within, into and out of the U.S. as of 9:30 a.m. CT on November 1.
- There were 143 cancellations in that category, Flight Aware reported.
- John F. Kennedy airport in New York and the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida had the highest number of domestic issues, according to Flight Aware’s statistics.
The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, has provided updates on wait times at checkpoints, but the last one posted was on October 30.
TSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator Warned That Wait Times Are Likely to Increase
“NEWS: Yesterday, October 30th, TSA officers screened over 2.5M people (+17% YoY). Average wait times were 4.43 minutes in standard lanes and 2.03 minutes in TSA PreCheck lanes. Do you have travel-related questions? Text ‘Travel’ to ‘AskTSA’ (275-872) for help,” it read.
TSA also wrote, “Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl recently joined @ABCNewsLive to discuss how our workforce remains mission-dedicated despite facing challenges during the government shut down.” He said that people should show up between 2 and 2.5 hours before their flights to get through security.
ABC wrote with its October 28 video, “As TSA workers receive their first $0 paycheck, acting TSA Coordinator, Adam Stahl addresses concerns about airport security and shares advice on how early travelers should arrive amid the ongoing government shutdown.” According to ABC, some workers have turned to food banks “to feed their families.”
As TSA workers receive their first $0 paycheck, acting TSA Coordinator, Adam Stahl addresses concerns about airport security and shares advice on how early travelers should arrive amid the ongoing government shutdown. pic.twitter.com/tqOeyaNbou
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) October 28, 2025
Stahl said morale was “strong,” and said that people are “mission-focused,” but he noted that they have “bills to pay and childcare.” He said the workers feel the impact every day.
“We are focused on operational continuity,” he said, but he added that there were “isolated impacts to wait times.” He said TSA was “hoping for a speedy resolution to this issue.” Stahl said that people have donated food cards to the TSA workers, and he stressed that air travel would still be
There is an “uptick” in absences, and so he noted that there will be an increase in wait times at some airports. The airports in Atlanta, JFK and Newark have been impacted, he said. “We expect wait times to increase,” he said.
The TSA wrote on X that donations are welcome.
“We’ve had several queries from the public about our donation policy during the shutdown. TSA management may accept donations from travelers on behalf of TSA which will then be distributed to our front-line work force,” TSA wrote.
“Donations of food, non-alcoholic beverages and store or merchant specific gift cards (gas, grocery store, restaurant, etc.) are greatly appreciated! Please note TSA management may NOT accept cash or cash equivalent gift cards (Amex, MC, Visa, etc).”
