The US Senate has voted to end the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, which reached its 40th day on today.
In the vote on Sunday night local time, the Senate voted 60-40 to break a Democratic filibuster on government funding legislation in a key step toward reopening the government.
The government shutdown has seriously affected the travel industry due to the shortage of air traffic controllers it has caused. Last week, the FAA announced that airlines would have to cut 10 per cent of their flights to 40 airports across the country, to cope with the shortages.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today said he believes air travel will be “reduced to a trickle” ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday as airlines implement the FAA-mandated flight reductions. More than 2,700 domestic flights were cancelled on Sunday (local time) alone in the US due to the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers. In addition, more than 10,000 flight delays were reported according to the FlightAware website.
What’s next?
The Senate approval means that the amended package will now go back to the House of Representatives to be passed again, before being sent to President Trump for his signature. The process will likely last several days.
Any one senator can delay consideration of the package for several days, and the House will have to return and adopt the deal struck in the Senate before it gets sent to Trump’s desk.
In the meantime, the effects of the shutdown will continue to be felt across the US. Duffy said earlier on Sunday that additional flight cuts might be needed within the next fortnight in the lead-up to Thanksgiving, and warned that a ‘substantial’ number of Americans might not be able to travel for the holiday.
BBC News/CNN
