Even as the longest shutdown in U.S. history appears to be wrapping up, travelers to and from Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport have been affected by reduced flights and longer delays in air travel brought on over the weekend. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday began reducing the number of flights at 40 high-traffic airports across the nation including Harry Reid International Airport because of the government shutdown. Transportation Security Administration workers and air traffic controllers have missed over a month of pay, taken on second jobs and began calling out of work.

Controller shortages led to average delays of four hours at Chicago O'Hare and 45 minutes in Las Vegas on Monday, with the FAA warning of staffing issues at more than a dozen towers and control centers that could cause additional disruptions in cities, including Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta, all considered to be high-traffic airports.

About 10 percent of all flights nationwide were canceled Sunday, making it the fourth worst day for cancellations since January 2024, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. In Las Vegas, there were 27 cancellations and 198 delays. Most of those involved Reid’s busiest commercial air carrier, Southwest Airlines, which had 16 cancellations and 81 delays, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“I’ve had a very long travel day, and now my bag is at a different location,” said Sharde Jackson, who flew from Alabama to Dallas to Las Vegas on Monday and still had to drive two hours to get to Barstow where she lives.  

“Today is my son’s birthday, and we just want to get home to celebrate,” Jackson said. “I’ve already taken three flights, and now I’m stuck waiting on my bag because of a 30 minute delay. I’m in Vegas and my bag is in Dallas.”

Airports nationwide have seen intermittent delays since the shutdown began because the FAA slows air traffic when it’s short on controllers to ensure flights remain safe. 

Even the relatively modest cuts at major airports over the weekend rippled across the system.

“It’s a domino effect, especially with connections,” said Gretchen Macknight, who also flew into Las Vegas on Monday. “I only had an hour delay in my flight, but I’ve heard horror stories from colleagues of two-to-three hour delays. One of my friends just decided to get a rental car and drive to her location.”

Macknight said that while airline workers are doing their best, “people have to travel, so you’re going to keep hearing more and more stories of delays and cancellations.”

A deal has been reached in the Senate for a potential end of the shutdown until Jan. 30, with eight Democrats, including Nevada Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, siding with Republicans. The two Nevadans cited travel delays and FAA-ordered flight cuts as part of their rationale for voting to end the shutdown. 

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.