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After 43 days of institutional paralysis, the federal government shutdown in the United States, the longest in its history, has finally come to an end. Federal employees will resume receiving their salaries, national parks will reopen, and public services that had been suspended will begin to be restored.
But the crisis left wounds that will not heal immediately. One of the most visible is at the airports, including those in Florida, where thousands of travelers, among them a large Cuban community, will continue to face delays, cancellations, and days of chaos that could extend for several days, despite the official end of the shutdown.
The approval of the funding bill by Congress and the signature of President Donald Trump signal the end of a political crisis that cost millions of dollars, paralyzed essential services, and turned the country's air transportation into a nightmare.
However, even though the government has already reopened, air traffic is still far from normalizing.
According to , more than 109 flights were canceled this Thursday in Florida, and another 156 experienced delays. Orlando remains the hardest-hit airport, with nearly 400 flights canceled since Friday and over 2,260 accumulated delays.
Nationally, the situation isn't much better with nearly 1,000 flights canceled and over 800 delays during the morning of Thursday, according to data from FlightAware cited by USA TODAY Network – Florida.
Air traffic controllers, around 13,000 across the country, worked without pay for 43 days, resulting in massive absences, extreme stress, and exhausted staff. The personnel shortage led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement flight reductions at 40 of the busiest airports in the country, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando.
The FAA administrator, Bryan Bedford, confirmed to Miami Herald that the original plan was to increase the reductions to 10% on November 14th, but following the government reopening, they will keep it at 6% while assessing whether the system can handle a gradual return to normalcy.
" There will only be one path back when our safety metrics are clear," warned Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, as quoted by The Palm Beach Post.
Exhausted passengers and crowded airports
The situation left scenes that many travelers will not soon forget, such as overcrowded terminals, endless lines, workers at their breaking point, and entire families sleeping on the floor waiting for a flight that never departed.
Duffy acknowledged in previous interviews that the situation had reached a critical point: “This is going to cause a major disruption. It will not improve until the controllers are paid.”
During the most intense days of the crisis, the press reported that Miami (MIA) experienced over 45 delays and 24 cancellations in a single morning, while Fort Lauderdale (FLL) exceeded 30 delays and 31 suspended flights.
Now, although the situation is no longer expected to worsen, returning to a normal flow will take time. American Airlines warned its staff, in an internal letter cited by CNN, that the effects of the shutdown “will continue to be felt for several days,” although they do not anticipate a severe impact on the Thanksgiving season.
What can travelers expect?
Experts advise passengers, including thousands of Cubans in Florida who rely on domestic flights for international connections, to remain vigilant:
- Check the flight status several times a day using the airline's app.
- Arrive at the airport two to two and a half hours in advance, as recommended by the TSA to ABC News.
- Rebook immediately if your flight is canceled; airlines operate on a "first come, first served" basis, explained Scott Keyes (Going) to USA TODAY Network – Florida.
- Remember that if a cancellation is related to the shutdown crisis, passengers are entitled to a full refund, according to federal regulations.
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