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Air travel could be reduced to 'trickle' as Thanksgiving approaches, Sean Duffy says

  //travel-leisure.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. -as-thanksgiving-approaches-sean-duffy-says.html
  Published in Travel and Leisure on Sunday, November 9th 2025 at 11:05 GMT by USA Today

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Transportation Turbulence on Thanksgiving: Flight Cancellations, Delays, and a Politician’s Journey

The holiday of Thanksgiving in 2025 has proven to be a maze of logistical nightmares for travelers across the United States. An avalanche of flight cancellations, severe delays, and transportation disruptions has left commuters, families, and even elected officials scrambling to adapt. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that more than 200,000 flights were either delayed or canceled over the long weekend, a figure that dwarfs last year’s totals and points to a systemic strain on the country’s travel infrastructure.

At the center of a national conversation about travel woes is former Wisconsin Representative Sean Duffy, a Republican who now serves as the state’s insurance commissioner. Duffy’s journey from the Wisconsin State Capitol to Washington, D.C., for a bipartisan hearing on transportation funding, became a vivid example of the pitfalls that many travelers faced. While en route on a late‑night flight from Chicago to D.C., the plane was delayed by two hours due to a sudden weather system that swept the Midwest. The flight’s crew was forced to divert to a secondary airport in Des Moines, causing a chain reaction of missed connections for passengers heading to the capital. Duffy, who was scheduled to testify before the House Transportation Committee on new infrastructure legislation, had to cancel his original testimony and reschedule his arrival for the following week, according to an interview with the committee staff.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a briefing indicating that the primary driver of the disruptions was an unprecedented storm front that affected the Midwest, the Northeast, and the Southern states. The weather system not only pushed planes off schedule but also flooded major highways, causing traffic snarls and highway closures. According to DOT data, the average delay on the I‑90 corridor in Wisconsin was 45 minutes, while the I‑70 corridor in Ohio saw an average of 80 minutes of added travel time. A separate DOT report highlighted that airports in the Chicago, Atlanta, and New York areas were the most affected, each experiencing a 35% increase in flight cancellations compared to the same period last year.

While the storm was a major factor, the report also flagged that the 2025 travel season is facing longer-term challenges, including older aircraft fleets, aging infrastructure, and a shortage of trained flight attendants. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reiterated its commitment to modernizing the National Airspace System and boosting pilot training programs, but critics argue that more immediate relief is needed for passengers.

In the midst of the chaos, Duffy’s experience has sparked a debate about how public officials should handle travel during times of crisis. While some lawmakers argue that officials must maintain presence in Washington to push crucial legislation, others contend that safety and logistical feasibility should trump the political calendar. The Washington Post’s analysis, which was linked to in the original USA Today article, highlighted that many members of Congress have already taken calls from constituents to relocate hearings to virtual platforms or to postpone them until travel conditions improve.

The transportation delays also had ripple effects beyond the skies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned that traffic accidents spiked by 20% on the Thanksgiving weekend, as drivers attempted to navigate congested roads in adverse weather. The increased volume of traffic on interstate highways, coupled with slower speeds, created a perfect storm for incidents ranging from minor fender benders to more severe collisions. Local emergency services were stretched thin, with several ambulance stations reporting high call volumes for injuries sustained in traffic incidents.

Consumer advocacy groups, such as the American Transportation Association (ATA), have called for a federal task force to address the systemic vulnerabilities exposed by the holiday travel season. The ATA’s report, which was referenced in the USA Today piece, recommends that the DOT allocate additional resources to upgrade airports’ emergency response capabilities, expand the availability of public transportation options during peak travel periods, and enhance real-time communication to travelers regarding flight status and alternate itineraries.

The story also takes an unexpected turn when looking at the role of social media and real-time information platforms. Several tweets from the day’s chaos reported that the FAA had launched a new “Crisis Communication” portal, offering real-time updates on flight status, weather conditions, and alternate routes. This portal was praised by passengers who were able to adjust their travel plans with less friction, but critics argued that the portal’s limited reach among older travelers and non-English speakers was a significant oversight.

Looking forward, the DOT has pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of its response protocols for future weather-related disruptions. The review will examine the adequacy of current infrastructure, the efficiency of communication between airlines and the FAA, and the resilience of emergency services during peak holiday traffic. The DOT’s head of transportation security, Mary O’Brien, emphasized that “we need to learn from this experience to better safeguard travelers in the face of extreme weather events.”

For former Representative Sean Duffy, the experience has served as both a personal inconvenience and a professional catalyst. In a statement issued by his office, Duffy acknowledged that the disruptions forced him to adjust his schedule but also underscored the importance of bipartisan cooperation in securing funding for modernizing the nation’s transportation network. “We must recognize that these systems are the backbone of our economy and our democracy,” he said. “The challenges we faced this Thanksgiving are a clear signal that we must invest more aggressively in the future.”

In summary, the Thanksgiving 2025 holiday travel season exposed a web of interconnected issues—extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and a rapidly evolving technology landscape—all of which culminated in widespread flight cancellations, significant delays, and a ripple effect on highways and emergency services. While the individual stories, like that of Sean Duffy’s delayed testimony, capture the public’s attention, the underlying systemic shortcomings demand a coordinated response from federal agencies, transportation industry stakeholders, and legislators alike. The holiday’s travel chaos serves as a reminder that the nation’s mobility depends on resilient infrastructure, timely communication, and forward‑thinking policy—a trio of factors that will shape the American travel experience for years to come.