As the federal government shutdown concludes, Pitt students traveling home for Thanksgiving are still facing uncertainty and disruption.
The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a spending bill for the 2026 fiscal year, recently became the longest shutdown in U.S. history. About 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, while roughly 730,000 continued to work without pay — many of whom were air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents. As a result, airports saw longer TSA lines, flight cancellations and a multitude of delays.
On Nov. 10, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan funding bill to end the shutdown. The bill will keep the government funded through Jan. 30, 2026, restore jobs for furloughed federal workers, guarantee back pay and prevent additional layoffs until the funding expires.
Air traffic controller shortages were occurring even before the shutdown, which has only added to travel anxieties for those who are returning home for the holidays.
Axel Hellman, co-founder of OurBus, a bussing company that transports thousands of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University students home during the holidays, said students were racing to purchase bus tickets early this year.
“Roughly 1,000 Pitt and Carnegie Mellon students will ride with us this Thanksgiving,” Hellman said. “Students are booking earlier this year — likely reflecting the uncertainty hanging over air travel due to the recent government shutdown.”
For Grace Symula, a first-year environmental studies major, planning to travel home for the holidays during the shutdown meant she had to book her flight tickets well in advance.
“I booked my flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas break back in October,” Symula said.
Claire Ellsworth, a first-year psychology major from Lexington, Massachusetts, typically flies from Pittsburgh to Boston. Though her flight home is usually about 90 minutes, she said the shutdown has meant more delays compared to previous travel seasons.
“I have noticed a few things while flying that have to do with the shutdown,” Ellsworth said. “The TSA lines were never too bad, but pretty much all of my flights always get delayed.”
Frequent travelers like Chase Jefferson, a first-year biology major at Pitt, have noticed flight delays are more common than ever.
“Last year, I flew to Florida about four times and only had one delay,” Jefferson said. “I flew from campus back home three times [this semester] so far and I have had two to three-hour delays each time.”
Ellsworth said back-to-back delays are not easy to navigate, especially with traveling home on time.
“I am just trying to get home,” Ellsworth said. “I get to the airport and just sit there for about four hours just for my flight to continually get delayed.”
Symula said flying home, especially alone during the government shutdown, has caused feelings of anxiety.
“When I flew home [in October], my flight got cancelled, so they rebooked me to fly even farther out of Pittsburgh [to Chicago] and then home,” Synual said. “I think about if I got stuck somewhere in Chicago, I do not know anybody in Chicago to call. It is unnerving.”
Paxton Cooper, a first-year finance major at Pitt, is not so worried about getting home for the holidays but is more concerned with ongoing government tensions throughout the shutdown.
“[The government shutdown] is a total nuisance — how so much runs on the government and that they are not able to settle their differences,” Cooper said.
Though party disagreements are not new, Cooper said he thinks the government should work together to avoid shutdowns that are affecting millions of Americans.
“I do not like all the blaming,” Cooper said. “Both sides are saying it’s the other side that’s wrong, but I think that it should be about cooperation.”