Pilot Speaks Candidly to His Passengers amid Shutdown Travel Chaos: ‘30 Planes in Front of Us’
- - Pilot Speaks Candidly to His Passengers amid Shutdown Travel Chaos: ‘30 Planes in Front of Us’
Desiree AnelloNovember 10, 2025 at 11:53 PM
0
An airplane pilot spoke candidly to his passengers about “frustrating” flight delays
While air travel had only been reduced by four percent at the time, the pilot noted that it would soon be reduced by 10 percent
The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history has caused travel chaos for airlines and passengers
A pilot took to the cabin intercom to candidly warn passengers of the effects of the U.S. government shutdown on air travel.
In a video shared to TikTok on Nov. 9, a pilot is seen addressing an airplane full of passengers traveling from New York City’s La Guardia Airport to Dallas, Texas, while waiting for clearance to take off.
“I don’t really care what your political persuasion is, but you should really call your senator,” he said over the speaker. “I’ll tell you, this is costing the airlines millions of dollars. And just think of 30 airplanes with one engine running, it’s gonna take us at least 90 minutes to take off.”
The pilot went on to explain that while air travel was only reduced by four percent at the time, the situation would soon become even more dire when air travel is reduced by 10 percent.
Gabriel Perez/Storyful
“It’s frustrating, it’s really frustrating for me, because right now it’s going to cost about two hours of our lives on the ground before we even take off, spend all that gas, all that money. And it just rolls into the rest of the system,” he continued. “There are 30 planes in front of us on the runway.”
On Nov. 5, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans for the department to reduce flight traffic at dozens of airports across the country. “There is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations,” he said during a press conference.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Mark Felix/Bloomberg/Getty
According to Reuters, 40 major cities have been ordered to reduce their flight schedules, and travelers experienced over 2,800 cancellations and 10,200 delays on Nov. 9 alone.
"You will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations," Duffy explained on Nov. 4, "and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers."
Since then, air traffic controllers have also shared insight into what Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees have been forced to do in the wake of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. After all, thousands of air traffic controllers nationwide have been working without pay, officials said.
Andrew Wevers/Getty
“I was messed up, man,” Jack Criss Jr, who has been working for the FAA for 16 years, told PEOPLE. Adding that he has been forced to deliver food to make ends meet. “If DoorDash hadn’t come through and helped me out, I don't know if I would be a controller. That app actually saved my career.”
Even so, he emphasized that it’s still safe to fly amid these unprecedented times. “I believe in safety,” he said. “There's a safety culture that's been ingrained in us and I would never say anything other than, 'It's safe, period,' because everyone that I know takes safety seriously."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
