Should the U.S. government not reopen “immediately,” the U.S. Travel Association is warning of “devastating” consequences for American travelers, communities and travel businesses.
In a letter to Congressional leadership this week, U.S. Travel and nearly 500 other travel organizations and companies noted the already $4-plus billion lost due to the 36-day (and counting) closure—the longest in U.S. history.
“A shutdown places extraordinary strain on federal personnel who are essential to keeping America moving—from Transportation Security Administration officers to air traffic controllers, who are forced to work without pay,” the groups said in the letter. “When staffing shortages worsen, airport wait times grow longer and flight delays and cancellations become more frequent, threatening to derail family travel plans across the country.”
“With Thanksgiving—the busiest travel period of the year—imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers, and economically devastating to communities in every states,” the letter said.
“Travel spending during the holiday generates billions of dollars in economic activity, supporting jobs, local tax bases, and small businesses nationwide. A continued shutdown is likely to significantly suppress travel demand and spending, creating a real threat to American workers, businesses, and the overall economy.”
In a statement, Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association President and CEO, added “The damage from this shutdown is growing by the hour, with 60% of Americans reconsidering their travel plans. Congress needs to do its job. The fastest way to restore confidence and restart travel is to reopen the government by passing a clean continuing resolution.”
In fact, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu told Reuters that carriers began seeing a drop-off in bookings last week with that number “growing a little bit each day.”
A separate report from Reuters said the shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers to work without pay, causing the delay or cancellation of “tens of thousands of flights.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that should the shutdown continue for another week, “you will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it.” Secretary Duffy later told CNBC, “If we thought that it was unsafe… we’ll shut the whole airspace down. We won’t let people travel.” The last time this happened was September 11, 2001.
U.S. Travel concluded, “Now is the moment to demonstrate leadership and prevent a Thanksgiving travel crisis.”
