Fears for the holiday travel season are mounting as the partial government shutdown leaves air traffic control towers short-staffed, causing flight delays.

The controllers are considered essential government employees so they’ve had to keep working without getting paid. But some are calling in sick more often.

On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration blamed staffing issues for a brief ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Delays averaged 90 minutes after flights resumed, with some nearing five hours.

Newark Liberty International in New Jersey has been among the airports most affected by staffing issues. Last weekend, 38 percent of all flights through the busy airport were delayed.

Staff-related delays are also impacting Nashville, where an FAA-ordered reduction in flights has been in effect since October 7. More than two dozen flights were delayed on Thursday alone.

During a visit to Nashville International Airport this week,Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Democrats for the problem. “Air traffic controllers are always focused on safety but they’re frustrated that their paycheck is ZERO DOLLARS!” Mr. Duffy wrote in an X post after the visit.

In a Fox News interview, Mr. Duffy warned the employees who are not showing up for work: “My message has been: show up. That’s your job. Eventually, you are going to be paid,” Mr. Duffy said.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents nearly 20,000 controllers and other aviation safety workers, says the shutdown is “stressful and distracting” for its members.

The president of the union, Nick Daniels, says the workers have now missed three paychecks, but points out that the staffing shortages have existed for years.

“The controller workforce has been understaffed for more than a decade, resulting in mandatory overtime, including regular 10-hour days and six-day weeks,” Mr. Daniels wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill.

The travel site The Vacationer predicts record numbers of travelers for the 2025 holiday season that kicks off Thanksgiving week. It says on most days, TSA checkpoints will process hundreds of thousands more passengers than on the same day a year ago.

Weather is already a variable during the holidays. If controllers continue to call out, that could exacerbate travel issues across the country. 

If the shutdown persists, air traffic controllers could find it harder to pay for holiday gifts – or simply essentials. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey has already set up a distribution center at the Newark airport to hand out groceries to unpaid workers.

“They are getting a box of shelf-staple food – things like pasta, tuna, etc. – but then they’re also getting fresh produce, apples, squash, potatoes,” the CEO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey told WCBS-TV.