Post-Thanksgiving Travel Meltdown Extends: Staffing Shortages Compound Holiday Gridlock
The historic Thanksgiving travel surge, which saw a record 81.8 million Americans traveling this week, has culminated in a chaotic operational meltdown at major airports nationwide. The worst of the congestion is expected to continue well into next week, as systems struggle to recover from peak volume and chronic staffing shortages.
A residual ripple effect from severe weather systems that swept the Midwest and Northeast earlier this week has left air traffic control towers and ground crew operations severely strained.
Carriers had to cancel hundreds of flights preemptively on Wednesday and Sunday, and the ensuing displacement of aircraft and personnel means that schedule reliability will remain highly volatile through early December. Flight delays are now averaging over 90 minutes at key hubs like Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).
The problem is compounded by a lack of operational resiliency across the industry. Airlines have not been able to hire and train ground handling staff quickly enough to match the post-pandemic recovery in passenger volume.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also reportedly running essential services with below-optimal staffing levels due to recent budget disputes, limiting the number of landings and takeoffs permitted during peak hours.
“We are in a catch-up game that will take days, not hours,” stated former DOT official Mark Jenkins. “When you have that much demand colliding with limited air traffic control capacity and a single snowstorm, the cascading effects are almost impossible to stop. Anyone flying for business next Monday or Tuesday should brace for significant disruption.”
The backlog is particularly concerning as the industry immediately pivots toward the Christmas holiday season. Airlines fear that any further severe weather events in the first week of December could cripple operations entirely, making pre-holiday travel planning an exercise in risk management for travelers.
