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Flight Chaos Threatens House Return for Vote to End Shutdown

FAA capacity reductions tied to controller shortages have upended air travel, forcing members onto the road as leaders try to assemble enough votes.

Overview

  • Speaker Mike Johnson told lawmakers to return immediately so the House can take up the Senate’s shutdown-ending bill, with a vote expected as soon as Wednesday.
  • The FAA ordered flight-capacity cuts last week because of air-traffic-control shortages, contributing to thousands of delays and cancellations across major hubs in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington.
  • Rep. Derrick Van Orden is riding a motorcycle roughly 950 miles from Wisconsin to Washington, while Reps. Rick Crawford and Trent Kelly opted to carpool rather than risk unreliable flights.
  • Some lawmakers are still flying when possible, including a group from Arizona whose Washington-bound flight was briefly diverted to remove a disruptive passenger.
  • The Senate approved the measure on Sunday and sent it to the House, and if it passes there it would go to President Donald Trump for his signature; recent delays already slowed Senate voting when Sen. John Cornyn arrived late from a flight.