The paralysis of the US federal government, now in its 26th day, is unleashing true chaos in the national aviation system. In just yesterday alone more than 8,000 flights on domestic routes experienced delays, with a growing risk of cancellations across the country, a dramatic increase from 3,500 the previous day. The cause can be traced to the growing shortage of Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), forced to work without pay as "essential personnel".

Data from the monitoring platform FlightAware highlighted the extent of the disruption across major carriers: Southwest Airlines recorded delays on 45% of its flights (about 2,000), followed by American Airlines with nearly one-third (1,200). United Airlines and Delta Air Lines also suffered heavy impacts, with 24% (739) and 17% (610) of their flights delayed, respectively.

Carriers are on alert: a Southwest executive said that the continuation of the shutdown is costing the industry "not only money, but the most precious thing: trust". The trade association Airlines for America has already warned Congress of potential disruptions, noting that in addition to the 13,000 air traffic controllers, around 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are also working without pay, leading to a significant increase in security checkpoint wait times at airports.

Security risk at the center of the debate

The absence of pay and the high stress are pushing a growing number of controllers and TSA agents to call in sick, worsening an already fragile situation. The FAA itself has not met hiring and training targets in recent years, leaving the system vulnerable.

A pilots' union spokesperson emphasized the serious safety problem, stating that "every additional day of the shutdown makes the American sky less safe". The issue was also highlighted by the Secretary of Transportation, who admitted that ATC staffing shortages in some areas have reached 50%, attributing up to 53% of total delays to the controllers' situation. Furthermore, the current funding freeze has halted financing for airport infrastructure modernization and the resumption of training courses.

The crisis is the result of Congress's failure to reach an agreement to re-fund administrative activities, in a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans that recalls the long shutdown of 2018–2019. The current scenario is however worse: air traffic has returned to pre-pandemic levels and the structural personnel shortage is more acute. Experts and industry associations have called on Congress for a rapid solution, suggesting structural reforms for automatic funding of critical functions to prevent aviation safety from becoming a "political lever".

The White House has not yet provided a definite date for the end of the impasse, but pressure from the air transport and travel industry —which the US Travel Association estimates is losing billions of dollars— is growing, making reopening the government a national urgency.