Will a Government Shutdown Hit Holiday Travel in 2026?
Government funding runs out December 11, 2026, right before Christmas. What the last two 2025-2026 shutdowns did to flights, TSA, parks, and DC museums.
Advertisement
December 11, 2026 sits right on top of peak holiday travel
Government funding runs out on 11 December 2026, ten days before Christmas. Nothing guarantees a shutdown, but Congress has to act again in peak travel week. Here is what is known, and what the last two shutdowns actually did.
Shutdown risk at a glance
| Question | Where it stands (18 September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Funding deadline | 11 December 2026 (continuing resolution H.R. 6500: Senate 90-6 on 8 August, House 370-48 on 1 September, signed 2 September) |
| Is a shutdown certain? | No. It only happens if Congress fails to pass new funding before the deadline |
| Shutdowns already this fiscal year | Two: October-November 2025 (43 days) and a DHS-only lapse from 14 February 2026 (75 days) |
| Do flights stop? | No. TSA and air traffic controllers work unpaid; delays are the risk |
| What closes first? | Smithsonian museums (documented closed by 15 October 2025) and national park visitor centers |
| Passports and cruises | Mostly continue |
| Estimated cost to travel | About $1 billion a week (US Travel Association) |
This page reports what is known and sourced, not a guess about what Congress will do; we have not personally sat in an airport during a shutdown. For the October 2025 shutdown day by day, see our earlier guide.
Will there be a government shutdown in December 2026?
Nobody can say yet, and any page claiming certainty either way is guessing. What is certain: current funding expires 11 December 2026, and Congress must pass new appropriations or another continuing resolution before then or federal agencies lose funding again. Fiscal year 2026 has already produced two funding lapses (see below), so a third is not far-fetched, but it is not preordained either.
Has the government shut down before in 2025-2026?
Twice. The shutdown that began 1 October 2025 ran into November, becoming the longest full government shutdown in modern US history at that point. A second, narrower shutdown hit just the Department of Homeland Security starting 14 February 2026 and lasted 75 days before ending on 30 April, during which TSA and CBP staff worked unpaid. Between the two, federal employees went through funding lapses totaling well over 100 days inside one fiscal year.
| Shutdown | Started | Length | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full federal shutdown | 1 October 2025 | 43 days (to 12 November) | Most of the federal government |
| DHS-only shutdown | 14 February 2026 | 75 days (ended 30 April) | Homeland Security, including TSA and CBP |
What stays open and what closes during a shutdown?
Most travel services keep running because the staff who run them are legally required to work. What closes is anything that depends on furloughed staff.
| Service | Open? | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Flights and airports | Yes | Delays from thinner air traffic control staffing |
| TSA screening | Yes | Officers work unpaid; longer lines if it drags on |
| National parks (land, roads, trails) | Mostly yes | No rangers, visitor centers, restrooms or trash service |
| Smithsonian museums | No | Documented closed by 15 October 2025, two weeks in |
| DC outdoor memorials | Physically yes | Information stations closed, no staff on site |
| Passports and visas | Mostly yes | Fee-funded; related services in closed buildings can slow |
| Cruises and CBP border processing | Yes | Minor port delays where support staff is thin |
How would a government shutdown affect flights?
Flights keep flying. Air traffic controllers and TSA officers are "excepted" employees, legally required to work through a shutdown, paycheck or not. The risk isn't planes grounded, it's the system running thinner: during the October 2025 shutdown, flight delays were documented at Chicago O'Hare, Newark Liberty and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson as controllers began calling out after missing paychecks. In January 2019, during the 35-day shutdown, a staffing shortage at a single New York-area facility was enough to force the FAA to slow arrivals into LaGuardia. More than 14,000 controllers nationwide would again be working without pay if December repeats it.
Advertisement
Will a shutdown cause TSA delays over the holidays?
Likely, if it drags on, based on precedent rather than a new prediction. TSA Administrator David Pekoske's advice during the 2018-2019 shutdown: "Arrive at your airport early, with plenty of time to park your car, check your bags and make your way through security." TSA officers are among the lowest-paid federal employees, and sick-outs climbed as the 2018-2019 and 2025 shutdowns wore on, thinning checkpoint staffing exactly when holiday volumes peak.
Is TSA open during a government shutdown?
Yes. TSA screening and air traffic control do not stop. What can degrade is speed and consistency: fewer working lanes, more callouts as a shutdown stretches past a missed paycheck, and slower recovery from any single day's disruption.
What happens to national parks during a government shutdown?
Parks generally stay physically open; the staff who run them don't. During the October 2025 shutdown, park roads, overlooks and trails mostly remained accessible while visitor centers, ranger programs, restrooms and trash service shut down, since the rangers who run them were furloughed. Mesa Verde and other sites posted federal closure notices at their gates while leaving the land itself open. If you're planning a December national park trip around a possible shutdown, expect the scenery to be there and the services around it to disappear.
Are the Smithsonian and DC monuments open during a shutdown?
No, and this is the one near-guaranteed casualty. Every Smithsonian museum (Air and Space, American History, African American History, the National Gallery of Art) and the open-air memorials on the National Mall closed to the public during the October 2025 shutdown, documented closed by 15 October, two weeks after it began. Outdoor memorials like the WWII Memorial stayed physically open but with visitor information stations shuttered and no staff on site. A December repeat would land during the Mall's holiday season, the exact window many families plan a DC trip around.
What about passports, visas, and cruise travel?
These three fare better than flights or parks. Passport and visa processing largely continues through a shutdown because the State Department's consular operations run on collected fees, not annual appropriations, though related services housed in other closed federal buildings can still see delays. Cruise sailings and CBP border processing also mostly continue, since Customs and Border Protection officers are excepted staff like TSA; cruise lines reported normal sailings during the 2025 shutdown, with only minor port delays where support staff was thinned. If a cruise is your plan, see what is changing for Royal Caribbean cruises in 2027.
How much does a government shutdown cost the travel industry?
By the US Travel Association's own estimate, a shutdown costs the travel economy roughly $1 billion a week, according to its president, Geoff Freeman. Over the full 43-day run of the October-November 2025 shutdown, the association put total travel and related economic losses at $6.1 billion. An Ipsos survey taken during that shutdown found 60% of Americans said they would cancel or avoid air travel if a shutdown were underway, and "cancel for any reason" travel insurance purchases hit a yearly high in the same window.
Advertisement
| Number | Source |
|---|---|
| $1 billion a week lost by the travel economy | US Travel Association, Geoff Freeman |
| $6.1 billion lost over the 43-day 2025 shutdown | US Travel Association |
| 60% of Americans would cancel or avoid air travel | Ipsos survey during the 2025 shutdown |
| 14,000+ air traffic controllers working unpaid | CBS News |
Should I change my holiday travel plans because of a possible shutdown?
Not yet, and not on a guess. Nothing shuts down before 11 December unless Congress fails to act, and even then the historical pattern is degraded service, not cancelled flights or closed borders. The reasonable move is to build in the same slack you'd want for any peak-season travel (see below), not to cancel a trip over a funding vote that hasn't happened.
How to prepare for a possible shutdown during holiday travel
- Get to the airport early. TSA's own repeated advice during past shutdowns: extra time for parking, bags, and security, especially at the largest hubs.
- Book refundable or flexible fares where the cost difference is small. A shutdown doesn't cancel your flight, but a controller-staffing delay can cascade into a missed connection.
- Don't count on a Smithsonian museum, national park visitor center, or DC monument staff presence as your trip's centerpiece if a shutdown is active; the buildings close fastest, even when the outdoor spaces stay open.
- Passport and cruise plans need less contingency than flight connections do, based on how the last two shutdowns actually played out, though not zero.
- Watch the news in late November and early December, not now. A funding vote this far out is not yet a travel decision. If you are still choosing dates, our guide to the best day to fly at Thanksgiving shows which days are busiest.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "2026 United States federal government shutdowns". Accessed 18 September 2026.
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, "Government Shutdowns Q&A". Accessed 18 September 2026.
- CBS News, "What would a government shutdown mean for flights and air travel?", for the Pekoske quote and LaGuardia 2019 precedent. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- Yahoo News, coverage of the October 2025 shutdown's holiday-travel impact, for the Ipsos survey and Geoff Freeman quote. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- U.S. Travel Association, "Government Shutdown Could Cost Travel Economy $1 Billion Per Week". Accessed 18 September 2026.
- U.S. Travel Association, "The Government Shutdown's $6 Billion Toll on Travel and the U.S. Economy". Accessed 18 September 2026.
- Travel And Tour World, on national parks, cruise ports and visa/passport continuity during a shutdown. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- The White House, "Congressional Bill H.R. 6500 Signed into Law", for the 11 December funding date. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- AHA News, House passes continuing resolution through Dec. 11, for the House vote. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- TIME, "The DHS Shutdown Is Over, But Its Impact on the TSA and Air Travel May Persist", for the end of the 2026 DHS shutdown and TSA staffing impact. Accessed 18 September 2026.
- National Parks Conservation Association, on park service impacts. Accessed 18 September 2026.
Topics
Frequently asked questions
Advertisement
