What you need to know about travel to the US during a government shutdown

The US shutdown is causing airport delays and park closures for travellers. Photo / Getty Images

By Nik Dirga of RNZ

Explainer

The US Government shutdown is into its second week. If you’re planning a trip to the US, how will you be affected?

The US Government shut down on October 1 over disagreements about funding.

While New Zealand is a long way away from all the squabbles in Washington, the shutdown still may have impacts on travellers or people doing business with the US.

“There’s definitely disruption to travel in the states because of the situation over there with the government and the shutdown,” said House of Travel chief operating officer Brent Thomas.

“People travelling around the states, they should be looking to see where they are hoping to go and make sure they are open.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Why is the US Government shut down?

Basically, the Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on passing a bill to fund government services into October and beyond.

The US Congress has the sole power to set the appropriation and control of government funds.

If funding cannot be agreed upon, the federal government curtails non-essential services throughout the country – in other words, a partial shutdown.

While Republicans control all three sections of the US Government – the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives – they are short of the 60 votes they need in the Senate to pass the spending Bill, which means Democrats can hold up spending.

One of the biggest sticking points is healthcare funding. Democrats want to extend expiring tax credits, which make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. They also seek a reversal of US President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, the government healthcare plan used by the elderly, disabled and low-income.

Government employees deemed non-essential have been furloughed – temporarily put on unpaid leave.

“Domestically, there is this growing sense of malaise among many,” Washington bureau chief for the Guardian David Smith told RNZ’s Nine to Noon on Tuesday.

“Hundreds of thousands of federal government workers have been furloughed and are basically just sitting at home.”

The shutdown also affects US Pacific territories such as American Samoa and Guam.

The US shutdown began on 1 October and is now in its second week. Photo / Getty Images

I’ve got a trip booked to the US, how will this affect me?

US airports are still running, but travellers can expect delays.

“What we do know is that people should allow more time to go through the airports to make sure they’ve got plenty of time to board the plane,” said Thomas.

“Some places are better than others - it’s better to allow yourself maybe an extra hour.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has also reported short staffing at air traffic control operations.

Controllers are considered essential government employees and required to work during the shutdown, but are not currently being paid, so absence and sick rates have gone sharply up.

“Kiwi travellers to the US should certainly expect to be affected by the impacts of the government shutdown there,” said Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman.

“These impacts are likely to be reflected in longer airport lines, revised travel schedules and US National Park closures, including one of the nation’s most popular public tourist sites, the Grand Canyon, which state officials said they cannot afford to keep open with a government shutdown.”

National Parks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite face service cuts. Photo / 123RF

So are all the tourist attractions closed down?

If you’re going to Disneyland, no worries. But many federally funded facilities have closed entirely, including the Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

National Parks such as Yosemite are open, but services and staffing have been sharply curtailed and some parks have shut down entirely. At the Grand Canyon, the popular South Rim Visitors Center is closed during the shutdown.

The Guardian has reported that trails are not being maintained and no one is collecting park fees, among fears about safety issues and parks being vandalised.

Other big attractions such as the Statue of Liberty in New York City are open, but that could change the longer the shutdown goes on.

“It will start to have an impact beyond museum closures and national park closures which certainly have an effect on lots of tourists,” Smith said.

If you’re heading off on a big US tourism trip this month, it’s highly recommended you check on anywhere you’re going, especially if it’s a public asset.

Thomas said a travel agent can help if people need to rearrange plans. Postponing a trip entirely until after the shutdown could be expensive, but a little flexibility can salvage a holiday.

“It’s a matter of rearranging their days to make the most out of their trip,” he said. “There’s still plenty that can be done in the states, it’s a vast country with a lot to offer.”

What about the US embassy in New Zealand and its services?

The US Embassy is still dealing with scheduled passport and visa services, but again, there could be delays.

On social media, the embassy said it wouldn’t update its accounts or webpages “until full operations resume, with the exception of urgent safety and security information”.

The US State Department has said that “during the lapse in government funding, consular operations domestically and abroad will remain operational,” including passports, visas and assisting Americans abroad.

However, some domestic support for consular operations is suspended.

Is this likely to end any time soon?

In the heavily polarised current environment, neither Trump’s administration nor the Democratic minority appear inclined to give in.

US government shutdowns, once rare, have become common negotiating tactics.

“Shutdowns over budgets are a distinctive aspect of US politics,” Patman said. “They have become quite common over the past 44 years – with 15 taking place during that time.”

“Government shutdowns have become less dramatic than they used to be,” Smith told Nine To Noon.

“They were once regarded as a total crisis in America and now people have become somewhat numb and immune to them.”

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said this week he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats over health care demands and that “we’re barrelling towards one of the longest shutdowns in American history”.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson warns that the US may face one of its longest shutdowns ever. Photo / Getty Images

Previous shutdowns have often come down to which party is taking more damage politically, but a recent Reuters poll found opinion pretty evenly divided.

The Government has taken to blaming the shutdown on Democrats and the “radical left” on official government websites, which may violate US laws about non-partisan federal programmes.

“The disagreement over the budget in 2025 is especially tense because the second Trump administration has drastically reduced the size of the national government since taking office in January 2025 and even suggested it may use the current impasse to make further cuts,” Patman said.

The last government shutdown, also during Trump’s presidency, lasted 35 days, from December 2018 to January 2019. It was then the longest shutdown in US history. This shutdown is at 14 days as of October 15.

Smith said if the shutdown carries on, the impact could soon show in health care, education and pensions.

“The government is a little bit like a human body where certain functions start to shut down if the Democrats and Republicans cannot agree to find a way to reopen it again.”

-RNZ