With the U.S. Department of Homeland Security now in a partial shutdown following a lapse in funding over Presidents Day weekend, international travelers heading to the United States are facing a familiar but complicated question: what exactly does a government shutdown mean for their flights, immigration checks and long‑planned visits to national parks and museums? While aircraft continue to operate and borders remain open, the strain on unpaid security staff, air traffic controllers and park rangers is already reshaping the experience for overseas visitors arriving in the coming days and weeks.
Flights Are Operating, But Expect Slower Queues And Staffing Strain
Commercial flights to and from the United States are still taking off and landing on schedule in most cases, and international travelers’ tickets remain valid. Under federal law and agency contingency plans, aviation safety and border security functions are designated as essential, which means Transportation Security Administration officers and Customs and Border Protection staff are required to keep working even when funding lapses. That continuity is intended to shield air travel from the most severe disruptions seen in other government services.
Behind the scenes, however, the shutdown is placing fresh pressure on a workforce that has already endured an extended shutdown last year and a long period of tight staffing. The vast majority of TSA staff, around 95 percent, are legally classified as essential and therefore remain on duty without pay until Congress restores funding. That same pattern was seen during the 2025 federal shutdown, when air traffic controllers and airport security officers continued working but did not receive paychecks, prompting some to seek second jobs and increasing fatigue and morale problems.
For international passengers, the practical effect is likely to be most visible at peak times in the form of longer security lines, fewer open lanes and more sporadic crowding at major hubs. In past shutdowns, staffing shortages and unpaid overtime have contributed to lengthening wait times at security checkpoints and at immigration desks, especially at busy gateway airports such as New York, Chicago and Dallas. This time, Homeland Security officials have already warned that even if core operations continue, the cumulative staffing strain can ripple quickly through the system if the shutdown persists.
Security Screening: Longer Lines, Fewer Staff, No Relaxed Rules
Travelers considering whether security rules might be eased during a shutdown should be prepared for the opposite. All normal regulations on liquids, electronics and personal screening remain fully in force, and TSA is under pressure to show that standards are not compromised by budget politics. The reality at many airports, however, is that checkpoint managers are working with limited flexibility to add staff at short notice when lines grow.
During the 2025 shutdown, federal contingency plans kept TSA screening in place, but as the weeks went on, reports emerged of rising absenteeism and staff burnout, with some officers quitting outright rather than continue working indefinitely without pay. Those dynamics can reappear quickly, especially around holiday periods and school breaks when airports see surges in demand. When a single checkpoint lane is left unstaffed or when officers are rotated more slowly, bottlenecks can form even though the underlying security procedures have not changed.
For global travelers, this means building more time into every leg of the journey involving a U.S. airport. Checkpoint queues can expand suddenly and unpredictably, and airlines may be less forgiving than usual when a delayed security line causes passengers to miss connections. Early arrival at the airport, online check‑in wherever possible and having documents and carry‑on items organized in advance become critical risk‑reduction strategies at a time when the system has little spare capacity.
Immigration And Customs: Essential, But Not Immune To Delays
Unlike some domestic-facing federal services that can close entirely during a shutdown, border operations are designed to remain open. Customs and Border Protection officers, who conduct primary immigration inspections for arriving international passengers, are also classified as essential and continue working unpaid. U.S. ports of entry, including major international airports, land crossings and cruise terminals, remain open and processing travelers.
Yet a combination of hiring freezes, suspended training and mounting overtime can still translate into longer lines at immigration halls and secondary inspection areas. During the 2025 funding lapse, air traffic controller recruitment and training were paused while controllers worked mandatory overtime without pay, a pattern that contributed to staff shortages and delays at several major airports as the shutdown stretched on. Similar pressures within CBP can slow passenger processing when multiple long‑haul flights arrive close together.
Travelers should also be aware that nonessential support roles within these agencies can be furloughed during a shutdown, reducing back‑office capacity to resolve paperwork questions or staffing secondary screening areas. While core security and admissibility checks proceed, the absence of administrative personnel can make it harder to address issues such as correcting records, resolving visa database mismatches or processing certain waivers in real time, which may result in some passengers facing lengthier interviews or temporary holds.
Air Traffic Control And Flight Delays: The Invisible Pressure Point
For many passengers, the most disruptive effects of a U.S. government shutdown are experienced not at the checkpoint or immigration desk, but in the departure lounge. The air traffic control system, overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration, is another essential function that stays online during funding lapses. Controllers remain on duty and the national airspace system continues to operate, but critical supporting activities such as new controller hiring, field training, some facility inspections and certain security programs are typically paused.
That dynamic was sharply illustrated during the 2025 shutdown, when controllers worked without pay from the first day of the funding lapse while training pipelines were frozen. As weeks went by, staffing levels at some key facilities became increasingly tight, and by early October, a series of high‑delay days hit cities such as Nashville, Dallas, Chicago and Newark as shortages forced traffic managers to slow the rate of departures and arrivals. The cumulative impact was felt by passengers worldwide through missed connections, diversions and cascading delays.
In the current shutdown, aviation authorities are again warning that while immediate cancellations may be limited, the system is less resilient to weather disruptions, technical glitches or unexpected volume spikes when hiring and training are on hold and staff are working without pay. For international travelers on multi‑stop itineraries, even modest delays into a U.S. hub can jeopardize onward connections. Building in wider layover buffers, avoiding the latest possible connection of the day and monitoring flights closely via airline apps become particularly important during an extended funding standoff.
National Parks: Open Gates, Closed Centers And Patchy Services
For many overseas visitors, a U.S. trip is built around headline national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite or the Grand Canyon. These sites sit at the heart of the shutdown debate because they are federally managed and heavily reliant on annual appropriations. In previous shutdowns, including the long 2018–2019 closure and the 2025 funding lapse, park operations were pared back sharply, rewriting the on‑the‑ground experience for visitors who had booked lodging and tours months in advance.
Recent contingency plans by the Interior Department have tended to keep most park lands and roads at least partially open, but with visitor centers shuttered, ranger programs canceled and only limited emergency services available. That approach was used again in 2025, when the Park Service left trails, overlooks and open‑air memorials accessible but closed buildings that required staffing, including some iconic sites like the Washington Monument. Restrooms and basic maintenance were maintained where possible, but with reduced staffing and shorter hours.
Travelers arriving during a shutdown should not assume that a park’s gate being open means a full‑service experience. Ranger‑led hikes, educational talks, junior ranger programs and guided activities are usually among the first services suspended when staff are furloughed. Search‑and‑rescue capacity and law enforcement presence may also be thinner than normal, prompting park advocates and officials to urge extra caution from hikers and climbers. With fewer eyes on the trails and limited capacity to respond quickly to accidents, self‑reliance becomes more than just a backcountry ideal.
Museums, Monuments And Capital Attractions: Case By Case Closures
In Washington and other major cities, the impact of a shutdown is immediately visible on the doors of federal museums and monuments. Institutions funded and operated by the federal government, including many Smithsonian museums and prominent memorials on the National Mall, rely on appropriated funds that can be cut off when Congress fails to pass a budget. During previous shutdowns, those venues closed entirely or operated on sharply reduced schedules until stopgap funding was arranged.
The picture for travelers is more nuanced beyond the flagship institutions. Some sites, particularly those with mixed funding models or strong state or private backing, may remain open even if neighboring federal attractions are closed. That was evident during the 2025 shutdown, when some states used their own funds to keep key park sites running and privately managed historic homes and museums reported surges in visitors as travelers looked for alternatives to closed national facilities.
Visitors who have planned itineraries around specific exhibitions, timed tickets or monument climbs should monitor official announcements from each attraction as their travel date nears and be ready with contingency plans. Guided city tours, private museums and outdoor neighborhoods often remain fully operational, providing a cushion for travelers whose first‑choice attractions are shuttered. However, same‑day rebooking into popular alternatives can be challenging during school holidays and peak tourist seasons, making advance research and flexible planning important for international guests.
What Airlines And Tour Operators Are Doing For International Guests
As with previous shutdowns, airlines are continuing to operate their published schedules and are not generally offering broad, no‑penalty refunds solely because of the funding lapse. Carriers may, however, provide limited flexibility in the event of significant, documented delays or missed connections linked to air traffic control flow restrictions or extended security hold‑ups. In such cases, standard policies around rebooking and duty of care apply, and travelers are encouraged to keep receipts and records of communications.
Tour operators serving the inbound market are also re‑evaluating itineraries that rely heavily on federal attractions. Companies specializing in national parks, for example, are watching park operation notices closely and, in some cases, substituting nearby state parks, private reserves or outdoor activities in gateway towns when key facilities are closed or ranger services are suspended. Operators that include Washington or other federal‑heavy cities in their programs are building in more time at privately funded museums and local cultural venues to hedge against possible last‑minute closures.
For independent travelers, travel insurance policies vary in how they treat disruption from government shutdowns. Many standard policies do not treat a shutdown as a covered reason for cancellation if flights are still operating, but may offer some protection for trip interruption or additional expenses caused by extended delays or forced changes in accommodation. Policyholders should review coverage terms carefully and, where possible, confirm in writing how shutdown‑related disruptions are treated before departure.
Planning Strategies For Global Travelers During A Shutdown
While the politics of federal funding remain far beyond any traveler’s control, there are practical steps visitors from abroad can take to reduce the risk of severe disruption. At the airport level, building in extra time at each stage of the journey is now more than a matter of comfort. Arriving earlier than usual for departure, allowing generous layovers for connections through U.S. hubs and avoiding tight last‑flight‑of‑the‑day itineraries can help cushion against staffing‑related slowdowns in security and air traffic control.
On the destination side, travelers should treat itineraries involving national parks and federal museums as provisional during a shutdown and identify alternative attractions in the same region. State and local parks, privately operated heritage sites and city‑run museums are often unaffected by federal funding disputes and can offer rich experiences with less uncertainty. Keeping accommodation bookings that allow some flexibility to shift nights between locations can also be valuable if a park or monument closes unexpectedly.
Above all, international travelers should stay informed in the days leading up to departure. Federal shutdowns can be resolved suddenly if lawmakers reach a funding deal, restoring normal operations at parks and museums within days. Conversely, a brief lapse can also harden into a longer standoff, increasing pressure on unpaid staff in airports and parklands. Monitoring reliable news outlets and official agency statements, and maintaining close contact with airlines or tour providers, will be essential for anyone flying to the United States while Washington’s budget drama continues to play out.