(EAST COAST, UNITED STATES) Flight delays are surging across the United States as a 27-day Government Shutdown and Hurricane Melissa push the air travel system to its limits, snarling schedules on one of the busiest corridors in the country.
As of Monday, October 27, 2025, more than 1,660 flights were delayed nationwide, with over 8,600 delays recorded on Sunday. By Monday afternoon, the count rose to roughly 2,800 delayed flights and 109 cancellations, according to operational tallies shared by airlines and air traffic sources. The Federal Aviation Administration has pointed to the dual shock of unpaid staffing and a dangerous storm tracking along the Atlantic as the main drivers of the worsening gridlock.
Officials say the shutdown, which began October 1, 2025, is forcing about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers to work without pay. Absenteeism is climbing as workers head into their first missed full paycheck on October 28, deepening the strain at towers and security checkpoints. Even small gaps in staffing can ripple into systemwide backups, especially on days when weather limits runway capacity or requires wider spacing between aircraft.
The timing could not be worse: Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 system bearing down on the East Coast, is prompting preemptive cancellations and rerouting that add to already stressed schedules in the Southeast and along the Atlantic seaboard.
Major hubs and system-wide impacts
Major hubs are feeling the squeeze. Newark Liberty has seen persistent hold-ups, while Los Angeles International Airport implemented a ground delay program with average waits of about 25 minutes. Staffing issues have also surfaced in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Southern California.
On Sunday, officials recorded 22 “staffing triggers”—a marker of critical shortages at control facilities—one of the highest single-day counts since the shutdown started. The sharp rise mirrors warning signs from the 2018–2019 shutdown, which ended after crew shortages and TSA sickouts cascaded into widespread travel chaos.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly acknowledged the stress on aviation workers and urged against taking second jobs while pay is halted. Still, there’s no announced deal to end the shutdown or provide immediate back pay as of October 27. Labor rules bar air traffic controllers from striking, but past shutdowns have seen increased sick leave used as a pressure valve. Union leaders have discouraged coordinated sickouts, warning that workers could face termination, yet burnout and financial strain are plainly mounting.
Airline-by-airline performance (recent snapshot)
Airlines are reporting uneven impacts by carrier and route. Sunday’s performance illustrated how quickly delays can accumulate when staffing and weather collide:
- Southwest: ~45% of flights delayed
- American: ~33% delayed
- United: 24% delayed
- Delta: 17% delayed
Weekend data from October 18–20—when over 19,000 flights were delayed and 1,600 canceled—foreshadowed the current crunch, as both the shutdown and Hurricane Melissa began to squeeze capacity.
For travelers: what to expect and do
The effect is tangible at every step of travel:
- Security lines move slower when TSA teams are short-staffed.
- Gate changes become more frequent.
- Rebooking options shrink as rolling delays consume buffer time across the day.
Families traveling for medical care, workers on tight business itineraries, and immigrants with time-sensitive appointments all face tough choices. Missed connections can derail consular visits, biometrics appointments, and court dates. While most agencies show some flexibility during declared emergencies, people should keep proof of travel disruptions and contact their attorneys or case managers as soon as plans change.
Practical steps for travelers:
1. Check your flight status often. Schedules can change by the hour.
2. Keep plans flexible. Build in buffers for connections and ground travel.
3. Document disruptions. Keep records if you have legal, immigration, or medical appointments.
The FAA’s airport status page offers real-time delay snapshots that mirror what controllers are managing minute-to-minute. You can review current delays, ground stops, and reroutes on the FAA Airport Status page.
Storm pressure on top of a fragile system
Hurricane Melissa’s wind field and rain bands are already affecting corridors in the Southeast and along the East Coast, forcing airlines to consolidate schedules ahead of the storm’s strongest pass. The FAA has identified the storm and the Government Shutdown as the two biggest sources of delays heading into the week.
When a Category 5 system looms, airlines and controllers must:
– Space aircraft farther apart, reducing throughput.
– Adjust routes to avoid severe cells.
– At times, halt arrivals outright.
Each of those steps reduces capacity, causing queues that can stretch for hours.
Storm planning normally relies on surge staffing at key control centers. That surge is harder to assemble when so many controllers are unpaid and some are out due to stress or side obligations. When one facility slows, the backlog spills into others. That’s why airports far from the storm—like Los Angeles—have also seen delays: the national airspace functions as one web, and a pull on one end tugs the rest.
Travelers in the path of Hurricane Melissa should expect more preemptive cancellations as airlines protect crews and aircraft. If flying this week, pack medication in carry-on bags, download airline apps for rapid notifications, and build extra time into connections. Ask airlines about fee waivers tied to the storm; many carriers publish change policies once a hurricane watches the coast.
Important: During weather events, federal rules don’t require compensation in the same way European laws do, but most U.S. carriers will try to re-accommodate passengers. Hotel or meal vouchers vary by airline policy and cause of delay.
Strain on essential workers
Inside towers, approach controls, and en-route centers, controllers are essential personnel who must report despite the shutdown. They shoulder enormous responsibility. Even a single absence on a sector can force reduced flow rates, which in turn trigger ground delays and reroutes.
Veteran controllers recall how the 2018–2019 shutdown’s final days saw spiking sick rates, culminating in stoppages at key airports. Analysts warn current trend lines look similar, with absenteeism rising as unpaid days grow and personal bills come due.
TSA officers, also unpaid, face passenger frustration at checkpoints. Wait times lengthen when teams can’t fully staff all lanes. For frontline workers living paycheck to paycheck, missed wages hit hard. Some borrow to cover rent and childcare. Others pick up temporary gigs on off days, risking fatigue.
The human cost:
– A controller skipping a car payment.
– A TSA agent splitting shifts with a spouse to save on childcare.
– A commuter choosing between a trip to see a sick parent and keeping funds for rent.
Those stories sit behind every operational metric posted on a dashboard.
Delays of this scale raise policy questions that reach beyond the storm. Air traffic training pipelines are long; new controllers can take years to certify. When veteran staff leave due to burnout, gaps last. The shutdown also stalls non-essential FAA work such as system upgrades and training cycles that improve safety margins and efficiency long-term. Aviation groups stress that predictable funding keeps the system safe and steady, especially during extreme weather.
Critical hotspots and immediate pain points
There is no firm timeline for a budget deal, and no clear path for relief to reach workers before October 28, when the first full pay period goes unpaid. If absenteeism increases further, especially at high-volume centers that feed the New York and Washington corridors, more flow restrictions are likely. That could push airlines to trim schedules in advance, a step carriers sometimes take to avoid day-of chaos.
Most acute pain points include:
– Southeast and mid-Atlantic: where Hurricane Melissa is disrupting flows.
– Newark Liberty: hotspot for holds and arrival spacing.
– LAX: ground delay program adding average waits of 25 minutes.
– Control facilities in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Southern California: reported staffing gaps.
Travelers can lessen stress by carrying snacks, charging devices, and planning for a longer day at the airport. If you miss a connection because of a delay tied to Hurricane Melissa or a flow restriction linked to the Government Shutdown, speak with your airline about rebooking on the next available flight.
Analysis and recovery outlook
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, combined weather and staffing shocks tend to amplify one another, especially along the East Coast where dense traffic and close-together airports depend on precise timing. When one hub slows, ripple effects hit neighboring airports within hours. The site’s review of past shutdowns and hurricane seasons found recovery often takes longer than passengers expect, even after the immediate cause fades, because aircraft and crews end up out of place.
There is no firm timeline for a budget deal, and no clear path for relief to reach workers before October 28, when the first full pay period goes unpaid. If absenteeism increases further, especially at high-volume centers that feed the New York and Washington corridors, more flow restrictions are likely. That could push airlines to trim schedules in advance, a step carriers sometimes take to avoid day-of chaos.
Bottom line and travel tips
This late-October crunch stands among the worst in more than a decade, blending human and natural strains into a single bottleneck. The United States 🇺🇸 runs one of the world’s most complex air systems, and it relies on steady funding and full staffing to keep traffic moving safely.
Best-case scenario:
– A near-term budget deal paired with a storm track that weakens offshore.
Worst-case scenario:
– A direct hit on major airports while key facilities operate with fewer certified controllers on position.
Until either pressure eases, expect:
– Rolling flight delays and uneven recovery day to day.
– Longer lines at security.
– Increased gate changes and rebooking challenges.
Keep plans flexible, watch official updates, and give frontline workers patience. They’re carrying the system through a tough week with fewer hands and more weather than any schedule can absorb.
This Article in a Nutshell
A prolonged government shutdown that began October 1, 2025, combined with Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has severely stressed the U.S. aviation system. By October 27, airlines and air-traffic sources reported about 2,800 delayed flights and 109 cancellations, with earlier weekend totals exceeding 8,600 delays. The shutdown has left roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers working without pay, raising absenteeism as the first missed full paycheck approaches on October 28. Major hubs, including Newark Liberty and LAX, are experiencing hold-ups and ground delay programs; 22 staffing triggers were recorded on one recent day. The storm forces wider aircraft spacing, reroutes, and preemptive cancellations, compounding staffing shortfalls. Travelers should monitor flight status, document disruptions for legal or medical appointments, and build flexibility into itineraries. Recovery hinges on a budget agreement and Melissa’s eventual path; absent relief, rolling delays and uneven day-to-day recovery are likely.
