BOZEMAN — The current government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history — entering its 37th day. That’s more than five weeks without pay for thousands of federal employees, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers.
At Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), the lack of pay hasn’t yet led to major travel delays. Travelers arriving from Chicago told similar stories about smooth flights and quick security checks.
SHUTDOWN DAY 37: BZN prepares for potential flight cuts
“Absolutely no problems at all. Everything moved and went really quickly,” one passenger said.
“It was busy in O’Hare, but everything went very well,” another added.
“It was smooth as usual, no issues,” a third traveler said.
However, views shifted when Jennifer, arriving from Denver, shared her experience.
“I was there really early at 5 a.m. in anticipation of not knowing what the TSA lines were looking like,” she said.
When she arrived?
“It was starting to back up even at that hour, and I also noticed a lot of reporters who were probably doing the same thing as you,” Jennifer told me.
In a recent press conference, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that starting Friday, the government will implement a 10% reduction in U.S. air traffic at 40 major airports due to staffing shortages.
BZN Chief Executive Officer Brian Sprenger said such reductions could directly affect local passengers.
“Those generally are where our flights go to. So, if one of our flights is one of that 10%, then obviously it could have some impact on our passengers,” Sprenger said. “But it could also have an impact even if our flights are operating — a connecting flight might be impacted.”
RELATED: These 40 airports are reportedly among those facing cuts due to government shutdown
According to the Department of Transportation, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently working without pay, and airports nationwide face a shortfall of about 2,000 controllers. The lack of pay has led some to quit, call in sick or seek other jobs.
Sprenger noted that BZN’s contracted air traffic control tower operators are still being paid, so the shutdown’s immediate effects there have been limited.
For TSA employees, the situation is more dire.
“Being able to have them come to work every day and process passengers through the checkpoint is asking a lot of them when they’re not getting paid,” Sprenger said.
So far, BZN has not had TSA staff quit or call in sick due to the shutdown. But Sprenger questioned how long that could last.
“People have to make decisions for their livelihood,” he said.
Sprenger, who has worked at BZN for nearly 30 years, recalled the last shutdown in 2019 and believes travel reductions may signal a turning point.
“The last government shutdown, things were at a standstill until people started getting affected — and air travel is one of those things that could start impacting people,” he said.
According to Scripps News, the complete list of 40 affected airports includes:
- Anchorage International
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
- Boston Logan International
- Baltimore/Washington International
- Charlotte Douglas International
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
- Dallas Love
- Ronald Reagan Washington National
- Denver International
- Dallas/Fort Worth International
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
- Newark Liberty International
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International
- Honolulu International
- Houston Hobby
- Washington Dulles International
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental
- Indianapolis International
- New York John F Kennedy International
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International
- Los Angeles International
- New York LaGuardia
- Orlando International
- Chicago Midway
- Memphis International
- Miami International
- Minneapolis/St Paul International
- Oakland International
- Ontario International
- Chicago O'Hare International
- Portland International
- Philadelphia International
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International
- San Diego International
- Louisville International
- Seattle/Tacoma International
- San Francisco International
- Salt Lake City International
- Teterboro
- Tampa International.
