How the Third-Longest Shutdown Is Hitting Airports and Benefits

As October stretches on, the government is creeping farther and farther up a grim list: the nation’s longest shutdowns.

The government shut down on October 1, affecting everything from food assistance programs to airports to federal employees’ monthly budgets. Shutdowns as we currently know them only began in the early 1980s, and so far this fall’s is the third-longest in history. If it continues until Wednesday, it’ll jump up to second place.

A 35-day shutdown in 2018 and 2019 takes the prize as the country’s longest, and they typically last around eight days. Since Congress is still deadlocked over Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire soon, there’s no end in sight to the current impasse.

On Monday evening, the Senate is voting for the 11th time on a bill to fund the government and put an end to the shutdown that’s touching every corner of the country — and its airspace.

Airport delays

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday that airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Newark, and Dallas experienced delays due to staffing shortages, Reuters reported. Still, the broad national effects of the shutdown on air travel are relatively muted. Bad weather has contributed to the delays, and aviation analytics company Cirium said delay rates were normal and flight cancellation rates were low as of October 17. An airport in Burbank, California, temporarily closed on October 6 over staffing shortages.

Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told Business Insider that there hasn’t been a drastic impact on the staffing of air traffic controllers, who received a partial paycheck earlier this month and will get a check for $0 on October 28 if the shutdown persists.

Controllers were already working up to 60 hours a week amid an ongoing staffing shortage, though financial worries may further exacerbate the situation. There was one staffing-related issue at Newark Liberty International Airport affecting the national airspace system as of 2 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, per the FAA NAS website.

If controllers do start calling out of work, they’ll likely attribute it to fatigue or illness. During the 2019 shutdown, New York’s LaGuardia airport temporarily closed because controllers called out, which was part of what pressured politicians into ending the record-breaking shutdown.

An air traffic controller told Business Insider that they’re seeing some colleagues pick up gig work, and Pete LaFevre, a DC-based controller and union representative, said the topic is a common one in the breakroom.

“We’re all going to be faced with tough decisions,” LaFevre said. “On my one day off, am I going to go and drive for Uber, Uber Eats, Instacart, so I can make my payments?”

NerdWallet travel analyst Sally French told Business Insider that things could worsen as Thanksgiving and Christmas near. She said TSA agents called out en masse, known as the “sickout,” about a month into the 2018-2019 shutdown.

“If this drags into late October/early November — right before the holiday travel rush — that’s when things could get really messy,
she said. “People can only work for free for so long, especially with bills due.”

National parks

Americans might bump up against the funding lapse when trying to visit national parks, some of which are open but are operating at partial capacity.

Visitors can still access roads, trails, and open-air memorials, according to the agency’s contingency plans, and parks that take in fees can use those for basic services, like cleaning bathrooms and picking up trash. If a building or facility is usually closed during non-business hours, it’s closed during the shutdown, per the contingency plan. The parks aren’t collecting entrance fees, and staffing is limited.

“National parks remain as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown. However, some services may be limited or unavailable,” a banner on the National Parks Service website reads. “

Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are closed.

Federal employees

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed — meaning they’re placed on unpaid leave — or are working without pay. Most employees got a paycheck for the days they worked just before the shutdown, which might be the final one they receive until Congress agrees on a funding package. Government contractors, including those working in maintenance roles at federal buildings and at national museums, are also affected.

Employees previously told Business Insider that the shutdown is impacting their monthly budgets, with some worried they won’t be able to afford basic necessities like medication, and others putting off expenses like home repairs.

The White House has floated the possibility that federal workers might not receive back pay, unlike after previous shutdowns, and thousands have been hit with termination notices. Those firings are in limbo after a judge temporarily ordered the Trump administration to stop laying off federal employees.

Social Security and SNAP

The shutdown has hit benefits programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which some 42 million Americans rely on to afford groceries.

Before the funding lapse, the US Department of Agriculture said in a memo that the program had enough money to fully fund October’s checks, but that recipients might see less cash in November.

“If the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits,” Acting SNAP Head Ronald Ward said in a letter to regional program directors, dated October 10 and reviewed by Business Insider. Ward said the program is drafting a “contingency plan.”

Monthly checks range from $25 to $1,700, depending on a household’s size and income, and the program costs the federal government around $100 billion annually.

Social Security payments are considered mandatory spending and are still going out to 74 million Americans. The Social Security Administration has paused some activities, though, according to the agency’s contingency plan, including benefit verification and Medicare card replacements.