If the U.S. government shutdown continues, there could be trouble for travelers and the U.S. travel and tourism economy on multiple fronts.

Trouble at airports and in the skies

For now, airports and airlines are continuing to operate as normal and are issuing reassurances that they are.

But if the shutdown continues, air travelers should be prepared for long security and customs lines and canceled or delayed flights.

Air traffic controllers, TSA officers and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff are considered ‘essential workers’ and are required to work during the shutdown.

But they won’t be getting paid. And, as the last government shutdown dragged on, the strain of working under those conditions caused many of those workers to call in sick, take on other jobs or just not show up for their shifts.

TSA says it has stopped actively managing its website and social media accounts during the lapse in federal funding.

However, before stepping away, the agency stated on X (formerly Twitter) that approximately 61,000 of its 64,000 employees are considered excepted or exempt, and that TSA will continue operations.

“The remaining employees will be temporarily furloughed,” it added.

In a pre-shutdown release, the Airline trade group, Airlines for America, warned that while “aviation is the safest mode of transportation, to maintain that during the shutdown, “the system may need to slow down, reducing efficiency.”

The U.S. Transportation Department is furloughing more than 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association notes that in addition to air traffic controllers working without pay, the shutdown means that approximately 2,350 aviation safety professionals that NATCA represents, including aircraft certification engineers and aerospace engineers, are furloughed.

“Critical safety support, operational support, and modernization work will stop,” says NATCA.

Closures of museums and National Parks

Elsewhere, Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. are closed.

A message from the National Park Service says that “National parks remain as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown. However, some services may be limited or unavailable.”

The agency has posted some closure alerts on its website and has more details in its contingency plan document. But be prepared to find visitor centers, historic buildings and other staffed facilities in any National Parks that remain open to be inaccessible.

There are state and local efforts around the country to keep individual parks and monuments open.

For example, Colorado is offering to help keep its eight National Park properties open. The South Dakota tourism office says many of its National Park sites remain open, including Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore. However, visitor centers and guided tours are unavailable.

And the Interior Department announced plans to keep the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island open in New York.

In general, the rule of thumb for travelers during this shutdown is to be flexible, check – and check again – on the status of any place you hope to visit and hope that this mess gets resolved quickly.

Because in addition to the disruptions individual travelers may be dealing with, Tourism Economics estimates that the travel economy is at risk of losing $1 billion a week due to disruptions in air and rail travel and the closure of national parks and museums.