Aussies travelling to the US warned of longer airport queues and closed attractions amid government shutdowns

Australians travelling to the US have been told to brace themselves for longer queues and closed attractions amid a nationwide government shutdown. Non-essential government services were suspended this week after senators voted down a spending bill to keep funding government agencies. It was reported about 750,000 US federal government workers are on unpaid leave while government services are temporarily suspended during the shutdown. Airports across the USA will be affected, as well as some of the nation’s most visited attractions including national parks, the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon. According to the New York Post, air traffic controllers, technicians and airport security personnel will continue to work without pay during the shutdown, but some Federal Aviation Administration employees would be suspended. US rail operator Amtrak confirmed to media it would continue running throughout the duration of shutdown. Political expert Simon Jackman told Sunrise lines at airports might be longer and museums might take longer to get into while the shutdown is in place. “Doing business with the United States … could get tricky,” he said. “There are the big-ticket things, like a lot of civilian employees at the Department of Defense, presumably are dealing with the AUKUS review, that might get slowed down. “Critically, the ability of US government to produce statistics, to know how their economy is going. They will start to slow down, if not disappear (completely during the shutdown). “It gives the market a bit of uncertainty, particularly as tariffs are starting to hit the US as well.” It is the second government shutdown to occur in America in six years following a 35-day shutdown in 2018 and 2019.