By Jack Phillips
The ongoing government shutdown is costing the U.S. travel economy around $1 billion per week in lost spending, said an organization representing the industry.
The U.S. Travel Association said that due to longer Transportation Security Agency (TSA) lines, flight delays, and air traffic control issues, there are more disruptions overall.
“This shutdown is doing real, irreversible damage,” U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement. “Travelers are facing longer TSA lines and flight delays. Airports are reducing flights and we’ve seen entire control towers go dark. The longer this drags on, the worse the cascade of damage will be—for local communities, for small businesses and for the country. Congress needs to act now and reopen the government.”
In the early morning on Oct. 1, the government shutdown was initiated, causing federal agencies to furlough their employees. The decision came after members of Congress could not reach an agreement on a stopgap resolution to fund the government as both Republicans and Democrats pointed the finger at one another.
Based on its analysis, the travel group said the cost to the travel economy due to the shutdown crossed the $1 billion mark on the morning of Oct. 8, or just over a week after the shutdown was implemented.
“Travel keeps America moving. When travel is delayed and services are disrupted, the ripple effects reach every corner of our country,” Freeman said, although his group did not say whether fewer people are traveling.
Despite the warning, the shutdown has not significantly disrupted domestic commercial flights, nor has it stopped the recruitment of new air traffic controllers, said Willie Walsh, director general of airline lobby group the International Air Transport Association.
“There were no significant impacts to date. I would say there wasn’t any major damage,” Walsh told Reuters at the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon on Wednesday.
On a global scale, the group continues to see strong demand from passengers and for cargo, he said.
The warnings on U.S. travel problems come as President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that there is no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown.
“There are some people that don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way,” Trump said during an event at the White House.
He said the back pay “depends on who we’re talking about.” When asked a second time about back pay for furloughed federal workers, Trump told reporters: “I follow the law, and what the law says is correct.”
While federal workers have often missed paychecks during past shutdowns, they are almost always reimbursed once the government reopens.
“That should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at a press conference at the Capitol, referring to Trump’s comments.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and other Democrats were critical of Trump’s comments.
“The letter of the law is as plain as can be—federal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their backpay following a shutdown,” Murray, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote in a post on X on Tuesday, adding that the remarks on back pay are an attempt to “scare” and “intimidate” federal employees.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
