Flights, food aid, and military pay at risk as 2025 government shutdown sets US record
Amid what has now become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, federal aviation officials are reducing the number of flights by up to 10% at certain airports.
Amid what has now become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, federal aviation officials are reducing the number of flights by up to 10% at airports — a move that highlights the sheer scale of the funding disruptions across different sectors, from air travel to food to defense.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters on Thursday that officials plan to reduce air traffic at 40 airports by 10%, a decision that threatens to severely impact holiday travel, experts say.
Even before the announcement, the airline industry had been facing delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The 10% reduction in flights translates to roughly 1,800 cancellations and as many as 268,000 fewer available seats for passengers, according to aviation experts with the analytics firm Cirium.
Reducing air traffic at 40 airports by 10%
Ravi Sarathy, an airline expert and professor of international business and strategy at Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business said the delays were no surprise given the prolonged federal shutdown that is placing the entire air-traffic ecosystem under severe pressure.
“Air traffic controllers are already understaffed and burnout is a huge factor in these high-stress jobs,” Ravi says. “With the uncertainty right now, some portion of the staff, albeit a small portion, may decide to not enter the industry or move on, perhaps considering early retirement options, depending on individual age and circumstances.”
Sarathy notes that air traffic control operations are unlikely to return to normal even after the shutdown ends.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began Oct. 1, shouldering heavier loads amid the widespread understaffing. The strain is all the more magnified as holiday passenger volumes rise — and with it, the inevitability of weather-driven disruptions, Sarathy says.
The result, he says, is a high-stress, high-risk operating environment, where even routine disruptions, such as thunderstorms or other weather-related delays, can cascade into major delays and cancellations.
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Sarathy notes that persistent conditions of fewer pilots using older aircraft, which require additional maintenance and downtime, also affect the airlines’ ability to manage “high on-time departures and arrivals.”
“At the same time, uncertainty about the direction of the economy has people reducing their consumption, particularly discretionary consumption, such as vacation travel,” Sarathy says. “This could reduce demand for air travel and alleviate the congestion and delays, if airlines, in turn, consolidate their flight schedules.”
Duffy said the planned air travel reductions were an attempt to “alleviate the pressure” on air traffic controllers — “a proactive measure” to protect the nation’s air travel system, which moves millions of passengers on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, concern is mounting over whether millions of Americans will receive their monthly SNAP food assistance payments, as the shutdown drags into its sixth week.
Silvia Prina, a professor of economics at Northeastern University, who studies the behavior of low-income households, and Mindy Marks, an associate professor of economics, recently published research showing that the timing and regularity of SNAP payments matter a lot — not just the amount.
If payments are lumpy or the interval between them is stretched, households may run out of resources and cut consumption, especially later in the month, Prina says.
The study found that when food stamp payments were temporarily shifted during the 2018-2019 government shutdown — in turn causing some families to get two payments close together, then wait longer for the next one — recipients spent less money later on.
Prina says that the pattern illustrates how hard it is for low-income households to smooth consumption when payments are disrupted.
“If households weren’t able to stretch two months of SNAP payments during the 2019 shutdown, they’ll be in an even worse position now — because this time they’re not getting any early payment at all,” Prina says. “If you can’t make two months last when you get them together, you certainly can’t make one payment last for two months.”
President Donald Trump on Truth Social this week said he would be withholding food stamp payments until the “Radical Left Democrats open up government.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavit later clarified that the administration “is fully complying” with court orders to use emergency contingency funds to keep benefits flowing, but that payments will be reduced or delayed.
The United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday issued guidance to states on how to fund roughly half of November benefits.
Active‑duty U.S. military personnel have been paid through the end of October, but only through emergency sources and other one-time measures. But it’s unlikely, according to the Association of Defense Communities, that pay will continue if the shutdown isn’t resolved by Nov. 15.
Last month, the Trump administration said it was planning to funnel a $130 million private donation from an anonymous Trump ally to help pay service members during the shutdown.
