Every Thanksgiving holiday, it's American Airlines This is the busiest time for the business and tourism industries. During this holiday season, tens of millions of Americans travel long distances to reunite with their families, putting pressure on the U.S. transportation industry comparable to China's "Spring Festival travel rush."
However, this year, with the ongoing shutdown of the US federal government, numerous flights in the US have been delayed or canceled. This means that Thanksgiving holiday travel for Americans is likely to become even more chaotic.
The US tourism industry is on alert.
On Monday, Eastern Time, the US Travel Association sent a letter to Congress urging it to reopen the federal government before the Thanksgiving travel rush. The federal government shutdown has now lasted 34 days, nearing the record for the longest shutdown in US history.
This letter was sent by more than 500 travel companies and organizations across the United States (including well-known companies such as Hilton and MGM). (Resorts, etc.) jointly signed.
In the letter, Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, warned Congress that "with Thanksgiving, the busiest travel season of the year, approaching, the consequences of a continued government shutdown will be immediately apparent, impacting millions of American travelers and causing catastrophic economic consequences for communities across the country."
"The damage caused by this shutdown continues to worsen every hour, and 60% of Americans are reconsidering their travel plans."
As the US government shutdown continues to drag on, flight delays for US airlines are worsening, airport operations are being disrupted, and a total of 3.2 million passengers are affected. The immediate cause of this is the significant absence of air traffic controllers due to the government shutdown.
Due to the government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees in the United States were forced to work without pay. Many air controllers were forced to be absent and seek part-time work to make ends meet, causing chaos for tens of thousands of flights.
Freeman stated:
"Safety is the top priority of air travel. While safety will be guaranteed, passengers will pay a high and completely unnecessary price for it, including flight delays, flight cancellations, and a loss of confidence in the air travel experience."
He urged that the fastest way to restore public confidence in tourism and restart travel is to quickly pass a temporary funding bill without any conditions to get the government running again.
Could the US aviation system be shut down?
In its open letter, the U.S. Travel Association specifically highlighted the crucial role Thanksgiving travel plays in the U.S. economy.
Last year alone, over 20 million passengers traveled by air during Thanksgiving, generating billions of dollars in spending and making it one of the busiest and most economically significant travel periods of the year in the United States. Beyond being a vital time for family reunions, Thanksgiving travel also boosts local economies, contributing to jobs, small businesses, and tax revenue.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the government shutdown will cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion.
However, what worries the U.S. aviation and tourism industry even more is that U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently stated in an interview that if he believes the federal government shutdown is making air travel in the United States unsafe, the government will shut down the U.S. aviation system.
Duffy stated:
“If we feel that (the government shutdown) is causing unsafety… we will close the entire airspace. We will not allow people to travel. We are not at that point yet; at this stage, there are only serious delays. But there are definitely more risks during a continued government shutdown,” Duffy said, adding that the U.S. is currently short 2,000 to 3,000 air traffic controllers.
(Article source: CLS)
