The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has now stretched into its 36th day, marking the longest in American history and leaving both U.S. and Canadian travellers facing mounting disruptions. As political deadlock drags on between Republicans and Democrats, unpaid federal workers are missing another paycheck, while airports across the United States are struggling with severe staffing shortages and unprecedented delays.
According to CNN, last weekend saw the most severe shortage of air traffic controllers since the shutdown began on October 1. Photos on social media showed chaotic scenes at airports, with long lines, missed flights, and cancellations. Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport even warned passengers that it could take up to three hours just to clear security.
The ripple effects are being felt north of the border. John Gradek, an aviation management expert at McGill University, noted that Canada’s air system is tightly connected with the U.S., meaning delays at American airports quickly spill into Canadian flight schedules. Even domestic flights across Canada that pass through U.S. airspace—such as those between Ontario and western provinces—could be affected if American air traffic controllers continue missing work. Gradek warned that any slowdown in U.S. air traffic control, even in regions like Albuquerque, could delay flights that merely transit over U.S. territory.
The shutdown, sparked by partisan clashes over health-care funding, has forced hundreds of thousands of American public servants into furlough and halted many government services. Republicans insist their funding proposal is straightforward, while Democrats refuse to back it without an extension of expiring health benefits. President Donald Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes that Democrats would “have to capitulate,” signaling little chance of an immediate resolution.
The situation echoes Trump’s previous record-setting shutdown in 2018–2019, when unpaid airport workers began calling in sick, grounding flights nationwide. With nearly 13,000 U.S. air traffic controllers now working without pay and staffing levels plummeting at key hubs like New York, transportation officials warn that the system is reaching a breaking point.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the mounting crisis as a “rolling thunder throughout the system,” cautioning that the longer the shutdown lasts, the worse the travel disruptions will become — for both Americans and Canadians trying to reach their destinations.