By Staff Writer
November 6, 2025
DENVER — As the federal government shutdown enters its 38th day—the longest in American history—Denver International Airport and airports across Colorado are bracing for significant flight reductions beginning Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that 40 major airports nationwide will see a 10 percent reduction in air traffic due to mounting pressure on unpaid air traffic controllers, with DIA among the hardest-hit hubs in the country.
The decision to throttle air capacity, described by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as a “proactive” safety measure, comes as more than 13,000 air traffic controllers continue working without pay. The controllers, along with 50,000 TSA agents, have been operating since October 1 without receiving their regular paychecks—a situation that has led to widespread staffing shortages, sick calls, and mounting concerns about the safety of the nation’s airspace.
Denver International Airport, the nation’s third-busiest airport with more than 82 million passengers in 2024, will be directly impacted by the reductions. United Airlines, which operates a major hub at DIA with approximately 550 daily departures, announced Thursday it would cancel roughly 20 round-trip flights per day through the weekend—primarily regional routes using smaller aircraft. The airline emphasized that long-haul international flights and hub-to-hub service would remain intact.
“The FAA’s goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely,” United CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a memo to employees. “That is the FAA’s highest priority, and ours as well.”
The impact extends beyond Denver. Colorado Springs Airport, the state’s second-busiest facility and just 70 miles south of DIA, is monitoring the situation closely but was not included on the preliminary list of affected airports. With only 12 gates and handling roughly 1 million passengers annually—compared to DIA’s 82 million—Colorado Springs lacks the infrastructure to absorb significant overflow from its larger northern neighbor.
Still, airport officials remain cautiously optimistic. Colorado Springs Airport has demonstrated its ability to handle emergency diversions in the past, accommodating up to 24 diverted flights in a single day during severe weather events at DIA. While travelers can make the 70-mile journey between the two cities by bus in about an hour, the question remains whether Colorado Springs could sustain any prolonged increase in traffic should the shutdown continue.
DIA officials have taken the unprecedented step of requesting federal approval to pay air traffic controllers from airport funds, with reimbursement to come after the shutdown ends. CEO Phil Washington emphasized the critical nature of the situation in a statement Wednesday: “As the shutdown drags on, air traffic controllers, in particular, are being stressed unnecessarily. As part of our airport family, it’s our hope that we can reduce the hardship on them by covering their wages during the shutdown.”
The airport has also opened a food pantry for FAA, TSA, and Customs and Border Patrol employees, providing groceries and necessities to federal workers who continue reporting to work without compensation.
The current crisis evokes memories of 1981, when President Ronald Reagan faced down striking air traffic controllers in a showdown that would reshape American labor relations for decades. When 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job on August 3, 1981, demanding better pay and working conditions, Reagan declared the strike illegal and gave workers 48 hours to return. When they didn’t, he fired 11,345 controllers and banned them from federal service for life.
Reagan’s administration quickly mobilized a replacement workforce: approximately 3,000 supervisors, 2,000 non-striking controllers, and 900 military air traffic controllers stepped in to keep the system operational. While air traffic was significantly reduced in the short term, the administration managed to restore about 80 percent of normal operations within days, effectively breaking the strike and demonstrating to the nation that the controllers could be replaced.
The parallels to today’s situation are striking—and troubling. Military controllers, who continue to receive pay during the current shutdown, could theoretically provide similar backup support. However, the scale of today’s aviation system dwarfs that of 1981. The FAA now manages more than 44,000 flights daily, compared to roughly 15,000 in the early 1980s. Modern air traffic control requires sophisticated training on complex computer systems that didn’t exist four decades ago.
Moreover, the air traffic controller workforce was already facing severe shortages before the shutdown began. The system is currently more than 3,000 certified controllers short of optimal staffing levels, a deficit that has been building for years. During the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, an average of 26.2 FAA facilities have reported potential staffing issues—more than triple the pre-shutdown average of 8.3 facilities.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters Wednesday. “The early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating.”
The timing could hardly be worse. The holiday travel season looms just weeks away, with Thanksgiving representing one of the busiest periods in American aviation. Airlines have begun proactively canceling hundreds of flights, with American, United, Southwest, and Delta already eliminating more than 600 flights scheduled for Friday alone.
For passengers, the disruptions mean not just canceled flights but cascading delays, missed connections, and the potential for being stranded far from home. Unlike weather-related cancellations, airlines are not required to provide meal vouchers or hotel accommodations for government-mandated flight reductions, leaving many travelers to bear the financial burden themselves.
The economic impact extends far beyond inconvenienced travelers. DIA generates an estimated $47.2 billion annually for the Colorado economy, with revenue flowing from car rentals, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that depend on the steady stream of air traffic. Any prolonged reduction in flights threatens jobs and livelihoods across the state.
Aviation industry groups and unions have issued urgent pleas for Congress to end the shutdown. The Association of Flight Attendants, representing 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, called the situation “outrageous,” noting that both the crisis of unpaid workers and affordable healthcare—ostensibly at the center of budget negotiations—were “manufactured by the exact people who can fix it.”
As congressional negotiations continue with no clear resolution in sight, travelers are advised to check flight status frequently, arrive at airports earlier than usual, and prepare for potential disruptions. Airlines including United, Delta, and American are offering flexible rebooking policies and, in many cases, full refunds—even for tickets that would normally be non-refundable.
The question now is how long the system can withstand the pressure. While the government may not be able to literally “close down the assembly line,” as Reagan once argued federal workers couldn’t do, the current shutdown is demonstrating that the American aviation system—vital to commerce, security, and personal freedom—cannot function indefinitely without the people who keep it running.
Whether military controllers or other stopgap measures can fill the gap remains to be seen. What is certain is that with each passing day, the margin for error grows thinner, and the stakes grow higher. The skies above Colorado—and the entire nation—are watching and waiting for Washington to act.
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