Why flights won't go back to normal immediately after the shutdown ends

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2025/11/10/government-shutdown-end-resolve-flight-issues/87191879007/

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Flights have already been reduced at 40 of the country’s busiest airports to offset air traffic controller shortages, leading to a wave of uncertainty for travelers. Experts warn those disruptions will linger long after the shutdown officially ends.
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Experts say the impact on air travel will stretch well beyond the shutdown's end as airlines work to untangle complicated flight schedules and recover from staff shortages that can’t be fixed instantly.

"It's going to be a step-up, phased-in approach to cutting flights," Harteveldt said. "For an airline to be told by the government they’ve got 36 or so hours to start dismembering their carefully built flight schedules doesn’t give airlines a lot of time."

When flights are canceled, it’s not just one plane or route affected. "Airlines have to consider the flow of aircraft and crew when they cancel flights,” said Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean for research at the David B. O'Maley College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "If you cancel both flights of a round-trip loop, the aircraft and crew end up in the right place later. That avoids stranding planes and crew, which is what makes recovery possible."
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