by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Thu November 13, 2025
United States President Donald Trump signed legislation on
Wednesday night that ended the record-breaking, 43-day shutdown, just hours
after the House of Representatives voted 222-209 to reopen the government.
According to Reuters.com,
the new government funding extension deal will run through January 30, with
hundreds of thousands of federal workers receiving back pay and air traffic
controllers returning to work.
As for the impact on air travel, the Department of
Transportation (DOT) said flight reductions at 40 major U.S. airports will
remain at six percent instead of the previously announced 10 percent, as the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) is expecting a “rapid decline” in air traffic controller
callouts.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told The
Associated Press that the six percent flight reduction cap will remain in
place until the air traffic system can safely return to normal operations. Duffy
said the “FAA safety team determines the trend lines are moving in the right
direction, we’ll put forward a path to resume normal operations.”
Flight delays continued into Thursday, though, as FlightAware.com
is reporting that 990 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were canceled as
of 7:55 a.m. ET, while another 502 were delayed. On Wednesday, 910 flights were
canceled and 2,668 were delayed.
American Airlines released a statement on the end of the
government shutdown:
“After 43 days, American Airlines is pleased that the
longest government shutdown in U.S. history has ended. The shutdown led to
widespread delays and cancellations across the country, in addition to
FAA-required cancellations, because federal aviation professionals were not
being paid. This impacted hundreds of thousands of our customers.”
Delta Air Lines also issued a statement following the funding
bill’s passage:
“Delta appreciates the work of the U.S. Congress to
reopen the federal government. We are extremely grateful to all the federal
workers including air traffic controllers and officers with the Transportation
Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection who worked without a
paycheck for more than 40 days to keep our skies safe and secure – and to
Delta people who went above and beyond to take care of our customers and
government workers during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. We look
forward to bringing our operation back to full capacity over the next few days
and delivering the premium experience our customers expect as we look ahead to
the holiday season.”
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman
issued the following statement:
“All government shutdowns are irresponsible—period. They
jeopardize essential services, erode public confidence and inflict needless
economic pain. If Congress ever goes down this foolish path again, essential
federal workers—like air traffic controllers and TSA officers—must be paid
without interruption. America cannot afford another self-inflicted crisis that
threatens the systems millions rely on every day.”
“This resolution restores stability to the people and
systems that keep travel moving—but it must also drive long-term change.
Congress should invest in the modern infrastructure, technology and workforce
needed to keep America moving forward.”
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) also issued
a statement on the end of the shutdown:
“The American people deserve a working government. It’s
time to get back to work so that we can restore critical funding and services
that support millions of people, including travelers and those working in
travel-related fields," said AHLA President & CEO Rosanna Maietta.
“Over the past several days, the federal workforce
designed to support and oversee our travel ecosystem began to show cracks at
the seams. In light of these conditions, nearly 20 percent of Americans have
indicated that they cancelled or changed their Thanksgiving travel plans. The
economic uncertainty associated with the shutdown coupled by the reality of
travel disruptions rattled consumer confidence, leading to trip cancellations
and decreased future bookings.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
