Oregon State University students may expect a rough travel period this Thanksgiving due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Since the record-long shutdown began Sept. 30, airports across the country have been hit by major disruptions in security and scheduling, leading to long lines at TSA and large amounts of flight delays and cancellations.

One of the largest impacts has been in Air Traffic Control. Due to the shutdown, air traffic controllers have been working without pay, leading to large amounts of resignations or refusals to work.

The Federal Aviation Administration responded Nov. 7 to ATC resignations by officially announcing reductions in airline capacity to 40 major airports across the United States, limiting the amount of flights that can land and depart.

“A 4 percent reduction in operations will take effect Friday, November 7, ramping up to 6 percent by November 11, 8 percent by November 13, and 10 percent by November 14.” said the FAA in an official report.

Of the airports included in these capacity reductions, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport — SEA — Portland International Airport — PDX — and Los Angeles International Airport — LAX — will be impacted.

If Oregon State University students are planning to depart from or visit one of these airports, they may experience delays or flight cancellations, possibly at the last minute.

At the time of writing, a deal has been passed through the Senate to end the government shutdown, and is awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives and presidential approval before the shutdown ends. 

However, if this deal were to pass it is unlikely that travel conditions will return to normal before the holiday season due to large losses in staff.

“We’re going to wait to see the data on our end before we take out the restrictions in travel…But it depends on controllers coming back to work,” transportation secretary Sean Duffy said in a recent press conference.

With the shutdown still in effect at the time of writing, it is recommended that OSU students take appropriate steps to plan ahead in-case of sudden flight delays and cancellations.

These steps may include but are not limited to arriving at the airport several hours before scheduled flights to account for long security lines, keeping track of flight status on airline mobile apps and potentially booking a backup flight.

Per the FAA, airlines will be required to issue a full refund of boarding passes to all passengers in the event of a cancellation.

For more information and updates on the shutdown and travel restrictions, visit the FAA’s official website at https://www.faa.gov.