This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
Richmond resident Brianna Curry didn’t expect her trip home from a veterinary conference in Hawaii to include shivering at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in a sundress. Her connecting flight to Norfolk was canceled Monday morning — one of thousands scrubbed nationwide as the federal government shutdown rippled through the aviation system.
“They rescheduled for the next day,” Curry said. “It’s 20 degrees in Chicago and I only had Hawaii clothes.”
After pleading with exhausted airline staff, she snagged the last seat on a later flight — just as her co-worker, initially stranded on standby, was called aboard moments before takeoff. The pair landed in Norfolk hours behind schedule but grateful to be among the lucky few who made it home.
As the shutdown stretches through its sixth week, air travel across the country — and in Virginia — has begun to buckle under mounting pressure.
Over 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees have been furloughed nationwide, while more than 13,200 air traffic controllers are reporting to work without pay, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Even before the shutdown, Virginia was navigating a shortage of controllers at nine airports statewide.
The FAA has ordered a gradual nationwide flight reduction to maintain safety standards amid worsening staffing shortages.
A 4% cut took effect Friday, ramping up to 6% Monday and projected to reach 10% by week’s end at 40 major airports, including Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National.
Controller shortages led to average delays of four hours at Chicago O’Hare and 45 minutes in Las Vegas on Monday. The FAA warned that similar disruptions could spread to cities including Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta.
Virginia’s airports holding on — for now
Virginia, home to about 1,110 air traffic controllers — among the highest concentrations in the nation — has so far avoided major slowdowns.
Officials at Richmond International Airport said Monday that while a few flights were delayed or canceled, the disruptions were largely “related to mandatory flight reductions” at other airports.
“At this time, RIC has not been directly affected by the federal government shutdown or by any associated flight reductions,” the airport said in a statement. Federal workers with the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection remain on duty, officials said.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority — which oversees Dulles and Reagan National — said its locally managed operations such as parking, concessions and public safety remain unaffected. But it warned that “the staffing of essential federal services such as security screening and air traffic control is unfunded and could affect flight schedules or security checkpoint wait times.”
Both agencies urged passengers to check flight statuses before heading to the airport and to arrive early — two hours before domestic flights and three hours for international departures.
Safety first, officials say
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement that the agency’s flight reductions are meant to “maintain the highest standards of safety” in the national airspace system.
“My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety,” Duffy said. “This isn’t about politics — it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay.”
Bedford said the agency is monitoring operations closely and “will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”
The FAA has also restricted visual flight rule approaches, parachute operations and photo missions near facilities with critical staffing shortages. Commercial space launches and reentries are now confined to overnight hours.
Controllers working without pay
For Virginia’s more than 1,100 controllers, the shutdown has meant continuing one of the most stressful jobs in government — without a paycheck. Many have taken on second jobs or dipped into savings to cover bills, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“This is the erosion of the safety margin the public never sees, but the American public relies upon every day,” Nick Daniels, the union’s president, said in a news conference Monday.
Daniels previously said controllers are “working ten-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay,” warning that the situation “creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work.”
“For this nation’s air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship,” Daniels said. “Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable.”
He called on Congress to “pass a clean continuing resolution to immediately end the government shutdown, ensure that all individuals who have not been paid during this prolonged closure receive their compensation, and then engage in bipartisan negotiations on other pressing issues facing our nation.”
On Monday evening, the U.S. Senate narrowly approved an agreement on a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government and end the shutdown, after seven Democrats — including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia — and one independent joined Republicans to advance the measure.
The deal, which keeps agencies funded through early January, now heads to the House, where swift passage is expected after weeks of mounting pressure from federal workers and the aviation sector.
Virginia already entered the shutdown crisis with a staffing shortfall in its air‐traffic control workforce.
According to the FAA’s 11-year workforce plan, the commonwealth was missing 133 certified professional controllers across nine facilities as of early 2025 — including 15 at the Norfolk Tower and 33 at the Potomac TRACON.
TSA stretches thin
At the nation’s airports, Transportation Security Administration officers — among 64,000 federal employees nationwide — are also working without pay. A TSA spokesperson cautioned in October that “an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports.”
“TSA will continue operations to keep the traveling public safe,” the spokesperson said. “We kindly ask for our passengers’ patience during this time.”
The TSA’s lost and found office at Reagan National has closed due to staffing limits, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said, urging passengers to “be extra mindful of your belongings in the security screening area.”
Federal workers feel the squeeze
The shutdown’s toll extends far beyond airport terminals. The federal government employs about 147,000 Virginians — from defense analysts in Northern Virginia to meteorologists in Blacksburg — making the state among the hardest hit economically.
For federal aviation workers, the strain is both financial and emotional. Many controllers and TSA employees say morale has plummeted as they balance safety-critical responsibilities with the uncertainty of missed paychecks.
TSA and other federal workers saw their first zero paycheck Oct. 24. As Tuesday marked their second pay cycle without pay, some have turned to food banks and credit unions offering emergency loans.
But for now, Virginia’s airports remain mostly operational — a testament to the thousands of unpaid workers who keep planes moving and passengers safe. However, officials warn that the system’s resilience has limits.
“We are the rope in this tug of war game that we shouldn’t be the rope,” said NATCA President Daniels. “This has nothing to do with us… The real story is that America’s air traffic control system is falling further behind because of this shutdown.”