United, American CEOs to meet Vance as shutdown strains travel

US Vice President JD Vance is set to host a roundtable with aviation industry leaders at the White House on Thursday afternoon to discuss the impact of the government shutdown, according to people familiar with the matter, as the administration seeks to ramp up pressure on Democrats over the funding standoff.

Attendees slated to attend the event include United Airlines Holdings Inc. CEO Scott Kirby, American Airlines Group Inc. CEO Robert Isom, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and former Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is now chief executive officer of industry trade group Airlines for America. People familiar shared details about the event not yet made public on condition of anonymity. The roundtable was first reported by CNN. Reuters first reported plans for Kirby and Isom to attend.

Aviation has become a flashpoint with the government shutdown now near the one-month mark and air travel showing increasing signs of strain from staffing shortages. Senate Democrats have rejected a short-term funding package approved by the GOP-controlled House, insisting Republicans first renew expiring subsidies for Obamacare health insurance.

Duffy warned earlier this week that flight disruptions for travelers will likely worsen as the funding impasse drags on and the administration and congressional Republicans seek to foist the blame for the shutdown on Democrats.

The shutdown has forced more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents to show up for work without receiving pay. Missed pay days make it harder for many workers to meet basic living expenses, including child care or commuting costs, prompting some to stay home.

The longer shutdowns persist and the more paychecks controllers and TSA agents miss, the more likely those workers are to call out sick, based on patters from prior shutdowns, subjecting passengers to longer wait times for security checkpoints and flight delays.

Air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck on Tuesday. That same day, Duffy and Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, held a press conference at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, to highlight workers’ conditions. They said the situation is particularly challenging for controllers still in training and without the income levels of more experienced colleagues.

Airports across the US have already experienced delays resulting from air traffic controller shortages. Normally the percentage of delays caused by staffing shortfalls is about 5%, Duffy has said, but since the shutdown, that number is routinely higher, at times accounting for more than half of late flights.

Even so, data from aviation analytics company Cirium suggests that overall percentage of flights departing on time at major US airports is still within normal levels.

Disruptions to air travel helped bring an end to the last government shutdown in 2019. At the time, air traffic controllers at critical facilities in Virginia and Florida called out sick, slowing air travel across the eastern seaboard and triggering a temporary halt to flights into airports in New York, Newark and Philadelphia.

That same day, President Donald Trump agreed to sign a continuing resolution and reopen the government.