The American airline Delta, one of the country’s main airlines, estimated this Wednesday the cost of the federal government closure that occurred between October and November at $200 million, but assured that its demand has normalized.
Delta Air Lines informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a brief statement that its demand “remains healthy for the December quarter and trends are strong for early 2026.”
“Growth in travel bookings has returned to initial expectations after a temporary weakening in November related to the government shutdown,” explains the company, which was extended by 43 days and ended up being the longest in the country’s history.
During the shutdown, which affected air traffic control operations as many workers stopped getting paid and coming to work, authorities imposed limits on air traffic at many airports.
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Delta CEO Ed Bastian said today at a retail forum that flight bookings fell between 5 and 10% during the 10 days those restrictions were in effect due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In the results of the current quarter, it warns, it will reflect that impact “on profitability” in about “200 million dollars, which is equivalent to approximately 25 cents of earnings per share.”
For now, Delta is the only major airline that has disclosed the impact of the government shutdown on its operations, while the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) investigates whether they complied with the restrictions.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year, Delta earned a cumulative $3.786 million, 45% more than in the same period of the previous year, and achieved record revenue in the third quarter.
With information from EFE
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