The federal government is open again, but the air traffic controller shortage that burdened the nation’s aviation network during the shutdown is far from resolved.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned this week that the monthlong disruption could worsen staffing gaps that have already strained airports and delayed travelers nationwide.
“We need more of them to come into the profession, and this shutdown is going to make that more difficult for us to accomplish that goal,” Duffy said during a press conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday.
The shutdown, which ended after Congress approved funding through January, forced air traffic controllers to work without regular pay for several weeks.
Although partial pay reached workers’ accounts Friday, the lapse in pay contributed to heightened stress, financial pressure and attrition across key facilities.
During the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that low staffing thresholds slowed aircraft movements at major airports.
The issue worsened in mid November as controllers missed two full paychecks and the system approached what senior officials described as “crisis levels.”
Airlines for America estimated that thousands of flights were delayed or canceled, affecting more than five million passengers during the shutdown.
A shortage of fully certified controllers has plagued the FAA for years, and experts warn the shutdown added significant new hurdles.
Tim Kiefer, an instructor of air traffic management at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a retired controller, said the profession has struggled to attract new recruits even in stable times.
“It can’t make it look like this is a great job because you’re going to have to deal with this all the time,” Kiefer said. “You may see people decide to do other things and say, ‘They didn’t get paid; they were stuck in the middle of a partisan dispute.’”
Industry analysts also noted that the air traffic controller shortage has ripple effects across the aviation system, including congestion at major hubs, reduced traffic flow and higher operating costs for airlines.
“The shutdown highlighted how vulnerable the system already was,” said Karen Lopez, an aviation policy researcher at the University of Southern California. “When staffing is thin, every weather event, every outage, every staffing callout becomes amplified.”
A government report last year found that the United States was short 3,903 fully certified controllers against a staffing target of 14,633. Many facilities have relied heavily on overtime and six day workweeks to maintain operations.
Shortages are particularly severe in the New York region, where high density traffic requires experienced controllers to manage complex airspace.
Duffy said retirements accelerated during the shutdown, reaching fifteen to twenty per day, far higher than the usual rate of four. Controllers must retire at age fifty six, but many choose early retirement based on years of service.
Weather challenges during the shutdown compounded the crisis. More than ten percent of US departures were canceled last Sunday, the highest rate since the CrowdStrike outage in July 2024, according to Cirium.
At airports across the country, the effects of the air traffic controller shortage were acutely felt by travelers and frontline staff.
“I waited on the tarmac for almost two hours because they said they didn’t have enough controllers,” said Maria Douglas, a traveler heading from Newark to Miami.
“Everyone was frustrated, but the crew kept saying their hands were tied.” Even after the shutdown ended, some workers said morale remained low.
“We love our job, but what happened the past month was rough,” said a controller at Denver International Airport who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“A lot of people were thinking about quitting.” Airline officials voiced similar concerns.
“When staffing falls below safe levels, we can’t move airplanes,” said a senior operations manager at a major US carrier. “The shutdown made a bad situation worse.”
The FAA is expected to accelerate hiring in early 2026, but training delays and certification requirements mean new recruits can take up to two years to become fully operational.
“We’re going to need sustained investment and consistency in government operations to rebuild the pipeline,” said Lopez. “One shutdown can undo months of progress.”
Duffy acknowledged the challenges but emphasized that restoring staffing stability is a priority. “We know the system is under stress,” he said. “Our goal now is to rebuild confidence, strengthen our workforce and bring new people into this critical profession.”
For now, aviation experts warn that the air traffic controller shortage will remain a defining issue for travelers and airlines, especially as holiday travel ramps up and weather conditions worsen during winter months.
The end of the government shutdown has brought temporary relief to federal workers and travelers, but not to the deeper systemic issues it exposed.
As officials work to rebuild staffing and restore stability, the air traffic controller shortage continues to shape the reliability of the nation’s air travel network.
The coming months will determine whether recovery efforts can keep pace with rising demand and mounting pressures inside America’s busiest airspace.