New Data Shows Huge Impact of the Government Shutdown on Airlines and Our Customers
NEWS UPDATE | November 10, 2025
- Analysis of FAA delay data shows that controller staffing issues contributed to 61% of National Airspace System (NAS) delay minutes from Nov. 7-9—up from 47% in the first six days of November, 16% in October and 5% in the first nine months of 2025.
- The staffing issues disrupted 5.2M A4A airline passengers from Oct. 1 through Nov. 9.
- From Oct. 1-29, A4A member airlines canceled just 11 flights due to controller staffing issues; from Oct. 30-Nov. 9, however, controller staffing issues caused them to cancel 4,162, including 3,756 on Nov. 7-9.
- 60% of the Nov. 7-9 staffing-related cancellations were a function of the FAA-mandated flight reductions at 40 airports.
- When the FAA flight-reduction order reaches 10% on Nov. 14, A4A estimates a daily average U.S. economic impact of $285M-580M, depending on the degree to which airlines can reaccommodate cancellation-disrupted passengers on the remaining flights.
- The estimate is tied solely to compliance with the flight-reduction directive; it does not include the ongoing staffing issues during the shutdown, the costs associated with value of passenger time, reduced bookings, passenger refunds, etc.
- It does, however, include indirect and induced impacts tied to reduced visitor spending, state and local tax revenue and spending across the broader economy as individuals within and outside the aviation supply chain curtail expenditures.
- Even those passengers who successfully reach their destination are encountering long departure delays, extended tarmac times, and highly unpredictable arrival times; many flight crews are timing out (per regulated limits) or missing connections.
- The staffing crisis has triggered broad secondary impacts—including late aircraft arrivals, crew legality issues, and equipment mispositioning—all of which prolong recovery, which will become worse as the directive phases up to 10% flight reductions.
- Unlike weather-driven disruptions which carriers can prepare for, each controller shift change or facility staffing trigger adds hours of delay with no advance notice, undermining the airlines’ ability to plan, staff or protect customers.
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