On Nov. 12, 2025, after 43 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended. However, it has created a significant impact on not only unpaid TSA workers but Campo students as well.

So what is a government shutdown? A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass the 12 annual appropriation bills before the start of the new fiscal year, and as a result federal agencies like TSA and NASA are unable to pay their workers.

However, unlike most people, during the shutdown these workers have to keep working because their jobs ensure national security and the safety of the people.

While employees of federal agencies are prohibited by law to strike, they can still call in sick, which is what a lot of workers at federal agencies like TSA did as a protest to unpaid work. Air traffic controllers and transportation security officers (TSO), which both play huge roles in the functioning of air travel, began skipping work to find other jobs to pay bills. As a result, over 9,500 flights were cancelled across the country and tens of thousands were delayed, according to The Washington Post.

On the other hand, TSA workers who stayed working expressed their frustration of not getting paid but also their concern for peoples’ safety: “Please get it together…Figure this out so we can get back to our normal lives and keep the public safe.” Walter Penn, a TSO at the Orlando International Airport, said. Luckily, no airport in the United States failed to function despite the staffing shortages. However, one airport that received the most significant impact from the government shutdown was none other than the San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

According to ABC7 News, SFO was put on the list of 40 major airports where the Federal Aviation Administration enforced up to a 10% reduction in flights because so many flights were being delayed or cancelled every day. During extremely busy travel times like Labor Day weekend, the government shutdown largely affected many travelers in the Bay Area, including Campo students. Freshman Amira Baterdene, who flew to Hawaii for Labor Day weekend, said, “My flight was delayed for 20-30 minutes, but it was fine because we needed extra time anyway since the security screening line was really long.” Baterdene also mentioned that she only saw one or two workers at each security screening checkpoint trying to manage the hundreds of people in line, demonstrating how much impact staffing shortages have on a busy weekend for travelling.

But perhaps the worst day to travel for those in the Bay Area was the weekend of November 8-10. That weekend, at least 750 flights were delayed and over 100 cancelled. “That weekend I went to LA, but my flight there was delayed for more than an hour,” freshman Athena Kale said. “There were a lot of other flights delayed and gate changes were happening very frequently over the loudspeaker. The whole thing was very chaotic and I saw large crowds of people just wait-

As the government shutdown just ended on Nov. 13, many are hoping for all airports to return back to normal.