American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby were among the aviation industry leaders to meet with White House officials to discuss the ongoing government shutdown's devastating impact on air travel this week.
Along with unions and other industry officials, the executives were on hand to seek out solutions to end the shutdown before the busy holiday travel season.
The shutdown is now in its fifth week, forcing approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work without pay, leading to crippling staffing shortages.
"It could be a disaster. It really could be, because at that point you're talking about people have missed three paychecks," Vice President JD Vance warned this week, referencing the upcoming Thanksgiving travel period. "How many of them are not going to show up for work?"
The Big Four U.S. airlines—American, Delta, Southwest and United—have already called on Congress to pass a stop-gap funding bill known as a continuing resolution or "CR" that would allow the government to reopen while conversations continue over health care policy disagreements between Democrats and Republicans.
According to Transportation Department Secretary Sean Duffy, 44 percent of delays on Sunday and 24 percent on Monday were caused by air traffic controller absences, compared to 5 percent on average before the government work stoppage.
The FAA was already working to bolster air traffic controller staffing before the influx of unscheduled absences.
If unresolved in the coming weeks, holiday travelers should anticipate longer security lines and significant flight delays and cancellations.
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