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The ongoing federal government shutdown is having a severe impact on the US travel industry. Its harmful effects have become even more intense as the political deadlock in Congress continues.
Concerns are growing ahead of the upcoming Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday weekend, the first major travel period since the shutdown began nine days earlier on Oct. 1.
According to Geoff Freeman, president of the US Travel Association, the disruption coincides with the peak corporate travel season, at a time when the industry is already struggling to reach its full potential.
Mr Freeman warned of broader implications, saying: “If we introduce anxiety into the system – anxiety about delays, anxiety about cancellations, anxiety about the TSA being less efficient – then we’re driving people to stay in the office.”
He said it “creates another reason for people to stay home, whether it’s Americans staying at home or foreign travelers avoiding the United States.”
The United States is the only travel market expected to see a decline spending by foreign tourists In 2025, inbound trips are expected to decline 6.3 percent year-on-year to 67.9 million, according to data from US Travel and Oxford Economics. Domestic travel is expected to increase by 1.9 percent this year.
Travelers who are still planning to visit the US are increasingly concerned about what the shutdown will mean for their vacations.
“There’s some concern ‘What does this mean? Does this mean we can’t fly? Are people not able to enter the country?’ All those types of questions are coming up,” said Peter van Berkel, president of inbound tour operator Travelco.
Van Berkel said some travelers abroad are now hesitant to book.
So far, the shutdown is not having any impact on Delta Air Lines’ DAL.N operations, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Thursday after its earnings, which showed. sales have increased In recent weeks.
Nearly 12,000 flights were delayed from Monday to Wednesday morning, partly due to the Federal Aviation Administration recession because of this absence of controllerWhile around 200 flights were cancelled.
Air traffic control staffing issues have emerged more sharply in this shutdown than in the last major halt of government funding in 2019, leaving cities across the country with unprecedented shortages.
Sheldon Jacobson, a University of Illinois professor who helped design TSA Pre-Check, said that if it continues, passengers will see a “degradation in service” as frustrated air traffic controllers and TSA officers become exhausted and call in sick.
“The largest shutdown in history was 35 days earlier under President Trump. Are we going to see a 35-day shutdown again? Right now, there’s no evidence of that being reconciled And it’s over, but these things will change very, very quickly and unpredictably,” he said.
Arizona-based travel agent Sonia Bhagwan said two clients have asked if they should cancel their Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations to Hawaii.
Wayne Milano, 44, of Monmouth County, New Jersey, said he has canceled a business trip to India and will not fly until the impasse is resolved. Citing bad luck with delays and cancellations, Milo told Reuters air travel was out of the question for now.
“I’m at the point where I’m, I don’t even have a chance for the first week or two, let’s see how things go.”