If you have a US flight on the books right now, build in serious buffer time. A government shutdown that stretched from late 2025 into 2026 left unpaid air traffic controllers and TSA staff manning the system, prompting the FAA to order a 10% cut in flights at 40 busy airports — Los Angeles, Chicago O'Hare, Denver and New York among them — starting 7 November 2025. Domestic schedules are the most exposed; international and long-haul routes were not named in the cutback order.
Preparation starts before you leave home. Get your airline's app installed with notifications on so you can track delays, gate changes and rebooking options, and grab the MyTSA app to check security wait times at your airport. A neat trick doing the rounds: text yourself your flight code (say "UA379") — tapping the message pulls up live gate, delay and baggage info you can forward to whoever's picking you up. Also, keep an eye on the seat map at check-in. Wide-open cabins are a red flag; airlines cancel lightly booked flights first. Nonstop and hub-to-hub itineraries are your safest bet.
On the day, arrive far earlier than usual — the old three-hour international rule becomes four to five, and domestic travellers should allow at least three. Don't count on TSA PreCheck or Global Entry lanes to save you; they may be slow or closed entirely. Pack for a long haul even on a short hop: snacks, a portable charger, medications, spare underwear and something to sleep in, in case a cancellation strands you overnight. Airlines aren't footing the bill for hotels or meals here — since the shutdown isn't their fault, the big carriers are waiving those usual compensations.
Know your rights when things go wrong. If your flight is cancelled, airlines will rebook you free onto the next available seat; decline that and you can request a full cash refund. Under current DOT rules, cancellations or big delays — three or more hours for US departures, six or more for international — entitle you to an automatic cash refund, not a voucher, plus refunds on baggage fees and seat upgrades. Airlines must offer cash, so insist on it: credits lock you to one carrier and can expire. The DOT's Airlines Cancellation and Delay Dashboard spells out what each carrier has committed to for delays within its control. Some airlines, like United, have issued travel waivers letting you shift flights without a change fee even before cancellation.
Insurance needs a careful read. Many policies exclude government shutdowns and staffing shortages outright, so check the fine print for coverage of missed connections, extra hotel nights and non-refundable bookings, or look at plans with a Cancel For Any Reason option such as those from Allianz or Faye. Document everything — receipts, screenshots of rebooking offers and delay notices — in case you need to claim later.
Booking fresh rather than flying? Keep connections outside the US where possible, consider ground alternatives like Amtrak or a rental car, and use flight search tools to find alternatives into secondary airports near your destination. The writer behind this advice even suggests rethinking non-essential US trips until things stabilise — hard words from an American solo travel blogger, but honest ones. And through it all, be decent to airport staff; they're working unpaid through the mess too.