What travelers need to know about the continuing government shutdown

Commuter trains under Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, Aug. 24, 2022. With the government shutdown entering its second week, airline passengers and visitors to national parks have been bracing for major disruptions. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)

By CHRISTINE CHUNG and GABE CASTRO-ROOT

With the government shutdown entering its second week, airline passengers and visitors to national parks have been bracing for major disruptions. Nonessential federal operations ceased at midnight Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass legislation to keep the government functioning.

Many airport employees, including air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration staff, are required to work without pay. Already, there has been an uptick in absences by air traffic controllers during the shutdown, which has slowed flights sporadically at certain airports in cities including Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago; New York; Philadelphia; and Burbank, California. But the problems have not yet been widespread.

Though transportation systems, including air and rail, continue to operate, the shutdown has already cost the country $1 billion in lost travel spending, according to the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group that promotes travel to and within the country.

“This shutdown is doing real, irreversible damage,” said Geoff Freeman, the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

“Travel keeps America moving. When travel is delayed and services are disrupted, the ripple effects reach every corner of our country.”

As a long holiday weekend approaches, here is a rundown of the expected impact of the government shutdown on the travel sector.

Air travel

The vast majority of the 61,000 TSA workers and more than 13,000 air traffic controllers must work without pay, according to the Transportation Department. The first payday with no check will land Oct. 24 for TSA officers and Oct. 28 for air traffic controllers, according to union officials.

The severity of the staffing issues is unclear. Overall this week, flight delay and cancellation rates have not been significant across the United States, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm. But even one or two air traffic controller absences can result in delayed flights and extra work for controllers, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in an interview Wednesday with National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” program.

Staffing shortages this week led to the closure of Burbank Airport’s air traffic control tower, and incoming flights were delayed more than two hours.

Union officials have emphasized that there is no organized effort among the country’s nearly 11,000 certified controllers to protest the government shutdown by not showing up to work. They have publicly warned their members that such actions would be unlawful.

Passports

Visa and passport processing have not been immediately affected. The federal agencies involved — the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs — are funded by passport fees and don’t depend on congressional appropriations for most programs.

However, the American Immigration Lawyers Association said that consular operations could be disrupted if fee-generated funds run out.

“In such a case, posts will generally only handle diplomatic visas and ‘life or death’ emergencies,” the group said on a general information page on its website.

Amtrak

Though it receives public funding, Amtrak functions as an independent company and will continue normal operations during the government shutdown.

“Passengers planning to travel on Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and across the country in the coming days and weeks can be assured that Amtrak will remain open for business,” W. Kyle Anderson, an Amtrak spokesperson, said in a statement last month.

National parks

Most national parks remain accessible, though with staff either furloughed or working without pay, some services may be unavailable. Travelers should use Recreation.gov for specific information on campsite reservations, guided tours and other visitor services, which vary between parks.

One major difference is that parks that charge entry fees are generally free during the shutdown. And some iconic sites run by the National Park Service are closed, including Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the observation deck of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

The shutdown is the latest in a series of blows to the park service, which has lost at least 24% of its permanent staff since January, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

Utah and West Virginia have tapped state funds to keep their parks running smoothly. Utah committed to keeping visitor centers at all five of its national parks open throughout the shutdown, and West Virginia set aside nearly $100,000 to fund visitor centers and other services at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. More states may follow suit if the shutdown continues.

At Zion National Park in Utah, “things to a visitor would seem business as normal,” said Barbara Bruno, the mayor of Springdale, Utah, a town just south of Zion that serves as the primary gateway to the park.

But behind the scenes, she added, the shutdown could exacerbate problems that were already festering in Zion, including delayed maintenance of park shuttles, which are funded by entry fees, and a lack of staff to combat vandalism.

More than 35 former park superintendents wrote a letter to the Trump administration before the shutdown urging the closure of national parks, citing damage that occurred during the 2019 shutdown, when parks were left open with limited staff.

Museums

The Smithsonian Institution’s museums and research centers and the National Zoo will remain open through Saturday, the institution said on its website. After that, doors will close to the public, but animals at the zoo and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, in Virginia, “will continue to be fed and cared for.”

The Smithsonian, which receives about 62% of its funding from the federal government, oversees 21 museums and other sites around Washington and two museums in New York.

Open-air monuments in Washington, including the National Mall, remain accessible, though facilities such as restrooms and information kiosks may be closed.

Borders

The country’s entry ports — sea, land and air — stay open, and most immigration, border and customs agents continue to work, according to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations can generally continue, the American Immigration Lawyers Association said. Most of ICE’s roughly 20,000 employees are considered essential and will work during the shutdown.

In past government shutdowns, international travelers with valid visas and passports were not affected.