Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took to Fox News Sunday to warn that for many of the millions of Americans hoping to fly for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, their plans were “not gonna happen,” predicting air traffic would “slow to a trickle.”
“As I look two weeks out as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel, I think what's going to happen is you're going to have air travel slow to a trickle,” Duffy told Fox News.
More than 4,200 flights have been delayed and 1,520 have been canceled as of Sunday as shortages of air traffic controllers continue to increase amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has left them without any pay since mid-October.
Duffy was quick to immediately blame Democrats for the flight disruptions, who have refused to back any spending measure that doesn’t include funding for Obamacare subsidies, which, if allowed to expire, would see health insurance premiums skyrocket for millions of Americans and cause an estimated 4 million to lose coverage.
“As everyone wants to travel to see their families, I think we're going to see very few air traffic controllers coming to work, which means you'll have a few flights taking off, but the thousands of flights that happen every day that move people around the country for this great American holiday? It's not gonna happen!” Duffy continued.
“You're going to have massive disruption, a lot of angry Americans, and I think we have to be honest about where this is going: it doesn't get better, it gets worse until these air traffic controllers are going to get paid.”
Transportation @SecDuffy says Thanksgiving travel for tens of thousands of Americans "not gonna happen," and that air travel will "slow to a trickle" ahead of the holiday amid the ongoing government shutdown. pic.twitter.com/i61yUQGD5H
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) November 9, 2025