The US government shutdown has broken records — and its economic consequences could prove even longer-lasting.@MeganScullyDC joins @sarahsholder on the Big Take podcast to break down the impacts on food assistance, housing, retail, air travel and more https://t.co/Lwt1aXgDv6 https://t.co/2p0eLcPxv1 ...

The big headline in just the last truly 45 minutes or so. If there's not a deal by Friday, he says they're going to cut air traffic in this country by 10% just about at major airports. Listen to this.>> I anticipate there will be additional disruptions. Uh there'll be frustration. Uh we are working with the airlines.Uh they're going to work with passengers, but in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible. Bottom line, it could potentially be a super painful slowd ...

Environmental Impact - The climate benefits of sustainable jet fuel are being negated by increased air travel [1] - Airlines are using more sustainable jet fuel than ever [1]

Weather Impact on Travel - Severe weather caused flight delays and over 1,100 cancellations across the country [3] - Atlanta's airport experienced hours-long ground stop due to thunderstorms, including tower evacuation [3] - Delta teams inspected nearly 100 aircraft for hail damage [3] - The FAA evacuated the tower for a time because of high wind [3] - The TSA anticipates screening over 18 million air travelers, with potential for further delays [4] Severe Weather Events - Nine preliminary tornadoes were logged in North Dakota [1] - Tennessee experienced driving wind and rain tearing apart trees [2] - Atlanta saw torrential downpours, strong wind, and hail [2] - The upper Midwest faces potential damaging wind and large hail in the coming days [4]

Forecasting Challenges in Aviation - Aviation predictions tend to be overly optimistic, overpredicting project success and underpredicting costs and difficulties [3][4] - Accurate forecasting requires broad thinking, encompassing technology, infrastructure, supply chain, climate effects, labor, environmental effects, regulatory policy, and geopolitics [5][7] Factors Affecting Air Travel - Air travel is part of a multimodal transportation system, chosen based on cost, time, convenience, safety, and reliability [8] - Aircraft speeds, measured as gate-to-gate times, were faster in the past, but traffic has grown fourfold, leading to slower speeds [12][14] - Shorter flights and smaller aircraft are more affected by weather delays and air traffic management practices [18][19] - Disruptive storms are growing, impacting air traffic and reliability [20] Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) - Advanced Air Mobility, or flying cars, combines private aircraft and drone technology, envisioning electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing vehicles [26][27] - The FAA anticipates 3,000 vertiports and 10,000 AAM flights per day within six years of operation, compared to the current 45,000 flights per day in the national airspace system [35] - The success of AAM depends on overcoming challenges like congestion, weather extremes, and other factors that could make it less enticing than driving [36]