US Airports May Be Even Worse This Thanksgiving. Here's What Travelers Should Know

Every year, Thanksgiving holiday travel leads airports to flood with passengers as Americans travel to spend time with their loved ones far from home. According to CNN, American airports saw roughly 80 million passengers in 2024, and this year's holiday season may bring even more. However, this year looks a bit different than previous Thanksgivings, as the current government shutdown has no end in sight (so you should avoid booking basic economy ticket right now). If the shutdown continues through the Thanksgiving travel season, airports can expect to be disproportionately short-staffed for the busy season, leading to heavy delays and flight cancellations.

The shutdown began on October 1, as Democratic and Republican senators were unable to come to an agreement on a federal funding bill for the next fiscal year. Just past the two-week mark, neither party had budged on its stance, leaving Americans to brace for an extended shutdown. Since many federal workers are partially paid or not paid at all during a government shutdown, financial strain is placed on essential airport workers like flight traffic controllers and TSA agents. These disruptions lead to mass absences and some workers leaving their jobs entirely, which was seen during the 2019 government shutdown during President Trump's first term.

Flight delays are already on the rise, with some airlines, like Southwest and American Airlines, seeing over a thousand delays per day. If the shutdown is to continue into the holiday season, disruptions are only expected to increase. While there is no way to predict exactly how long the shutdown will last, politicians are predicting it will be a while. A former national political director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Ian Russell, told CNN, "It feels like both parties are digging their trenches and preparing for a long conflict."

Your best bet going into this holiday travel season is to expect a bit of airport chaos. If you haven't already booked your flights for Thanksgiving, it may be a good idea to reconsider your travel plans, or at least book your flights with travel insurance, because it would actually be worth it this time. Become familiar with the protocol of what you should do if your flight gets cancelled to make sure you can reschedule or get a refund for your trip. Be sure to have a backup plan, whether that's renting a car instead of flying or keeping a small turkey in the fridge in case you end up stranded at home. Most importantly, if you end up at the airport at any point during the government shutdown, be extra kind to airport personnel, as many of them could be working without pay.