The record-breaking government shutdown might have ended in mid-November, but its effects continue to ripple through the airline industry.
Delta Air Lines, for one, reported on Wednesday that the 43-day shutdown cost it about $200 million in pre-tax profits, due to softer demand for bookings during November.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said at a financial conference on Wednesday that when the FAA began reducing flights across the country on November 7, the airline saw “between a 5% and 10% immediate reduction in bookings” and that “refunds grew significantly.”
The FAA began reducing domestic flights at the 40 busiest airports in the U.S. due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, who weren’t paid during the shutdown and began calling in sick to work in greater-than-average numbers.
“You’ve got the Secretary of Transportation telling people, we don’t have controllers, questioning the safety at some level of travel, which has never before happened,” Bastian said. “People said, well, I’m going to hold up on making my decisions.”
Delta said that the lower fourth quarter profits will translate to a loss of 25 cents per share.
“We’ll do our best to make it up, but the reality is that we’re through it,” Bastian said, noting that the airline had a strong Thanksgiving and that demand for the December holiday period and into 2026 also looks strong.
The government shutdown ended on November 13 and was the longest-ever in U.S. history.
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