Xinhua News Agency, Washington, October 30 (Reporter Yang Ling, Xiong Maoling) As of the 30th, the U.S. federal government has been "shut down" for 30 days. On the same day, US Vice President Vance warned that if the "shutdown" lasts until the Thanksgiving holiday travel season in late November, American air traffic may face a "disaster".

On the same day, Wans held a roundtable meeting in the White House with Transport Minister Daffy and airline and industry executives to discuss the continued impact of the government¡¯s ¡°stop-down¡± on air traffic.

Vance told reporters after the meeting that the "shutdown" lasting until late November may lead to more absences of air traffic controllers and flight delays, and longer queues at airport security checks. "This may be a disaster".

Daphne also warned at a press conference that the government's "stop-down" impasse would be "a disaster" for the aviation industry until Thanksgiving, adding that October was the down season for U.S. air travel and flights were less affected by the government's "stop-down", but people's demand for travel would rise dramatically in November.

Affected by the "shutdown", the serious shortage of air traffic controllers in the United States has caused flight delays or even cancellations at many airports, and airport operations have also been affected. According to data from the US flight tracking website, on the 30th alone, more than 6,000 flights were delayed and more than 1,000 flights were cancelled in the United States due to various reasons. On the same day, the FAA also briefly issued a "ground grounding" order to Washington Reagan National Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The United States has long faced a shortage of air traffic controllers, and many air traffic controllers were forced to work overtime before the government shutdown. Since the federal government's shutdown, about 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 employees responsible for airport security inspections have been forced to work without pay, and an increasing number of employees are calling in sick leave. Duffy said on the 28th that 44% and 24% of flight delays on the 26th and 27th respectively were caused by the absence of air traffic controllers, compared with an average of only 5% before the government's "shutdown".