Trade groups Airlines for America and the American Hotel & Lodging Association are calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately pass Senate-approved legislation to end the government shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving travel period.
"This isn't a political football to be kicked around," said Christopher Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday. "This is affecting not just the airlines, but the entire American economy."
The shutdown, now in its 43rd day, has resulted in approximately $6 billion in lost travel-related economic activity, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
AHLA CEO Rosanna Maietta reported that the U.S. hotel industry alone has lost $31 million in revenue per day since the shutdown began.
Forward hotel bookings also appear to be taking a hit. Maietta cited an AHLA survey conducted last week that found nearly 40% of respondents said the shutdown is impacting their future travel intentions, and that nearly 20% of Americans have already canceled or changed their Thanksgiving plans.
"The economic uncertainty associated with the shutdown, coupled by the reality of travel disruptions, has rattled consumer confidence," Maietta said.
This uncertainty comes as FAA has mandated flight reductions at 40 U.S. airports due to air traffic controller fatigue. Controllers are currently working without pay, which resulted in an increase in call-outs.
According to Sununu, even after the House votes to reopen the government, it would likely take "about a week or so" for airline operations to return to normal, as airlines work to reposition assets and staffing.
"Canceling one flight has a domino effect," explained Sununu. "There's a lot of pieces that have to line up."
Beyond the immediate crisis, Sununu expressed concern about the possibility of another shutdown.
"This is still a temporary, continuing resolution until, likely, the end of January," said Sununu. "So, is this going to happen again? There are long-term measures that can be taken to make sure that airlines, hotels, travel, the American public aren't held hostage."
Sununu suggested policy changes that would allow the FAA Trust Fund to be used to pay air traffic controllers during future shutdowns.
"Everyone's paying millions of dollars into a trust fund," he said. "It has $5 billion sitting in it right now that could be used to pay the air traffic controllers, that could be used to make sure that this doesn't happen again. We're calling on [Congress] to start looking at taking those next steps."
The House returned to session Wednesday to vote on the measure, with a final vote scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern.