Avidia Bancorp CEO Cozzone buys $49,986 in shares
Investing.com -- Airline stocks tumbled on Thursday as concerns mounted that the ongoing government shutdown is disrupting air travel and could worsen during the busy Thanksgiving season. United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) fell 3%, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) dropped 2.4%, American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) declined 2%, and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) slipped 1.5%.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air travel disruptions will worsen in November if the shutdown continues, noting that 44% of delays on Sunday and 24% on Monday were caused by air traffic controller absences, compared to just 5% on average before the shutdown.
The CEOs of major airlines attended a White House roundtable with Vice President JD Vance on Thursday to press for an end to the 30-day shutdown. United CEO Scott Kirby acknowledged seeing "some economic impact due to the government shutdown."
During the meeting, Vance expressed concern about the situation: "Everybody here is very worried that we’re going to see more delays, more stresses on the people who are actually making the aviation system run."
The shutdown has forced approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay. Many controllers have taken second jobs after missing their first full paycheck on Tuesday, exacerbating pre-existing staffing shortages. The FAA is already about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels.
The situation echoes the 2019 government shutdown, which ended after 35 days when a spike in controller and TSA officer absences put pressure on Washington to reopen the government.