FAQ: Will our flights to St. Thomas Virgin Islands being canceled?
While the ongoing government funding lapse creates widespread uncertainty, the core federal operations required for air travel, including flights to destinations like St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, are classified as essential services and are expected to continue without disruption. Therefore, a flight cancellation specifically due to the federal government shutdown is highly improbable.
The operational continuity is maintained by:
- Air Traffic Control (ATC): Air traffic controllers are considered “excepted” personnel whose activities are necessary for the safety of human life and the protection of property.[1] They are required to remain on the job to manage all flights, but they work without immediate compensation during the funding gap.[2]
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA): All security screening operations at airports continue, as TSA agents are deemed essential to the protection of property and human life.[1]
- Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Since the U.S. Virgin Islands is a domestic destination but requires customs clearance for entry, CBP operations, which are also classified as essential, continue.[1]
These essential operations—ATC, TSA, and CBP—ensure the infrastructure for safe and secure flight operations remains fully functional. While the employees in these roles are among the approximately 600,000 “excepted” federal workers compelled to work without immediate pay [2], their critical duties are maintained.[1]
Any flight cancellations you might experience would most likely be due to standard commercial reasons, such as weather, mechanical issues, or airline-specific operational decisions, rather than a failure of the federal government services necessary for air travel.
Sources [1] www.natca.org and [2] www.busfin.uillinois.edu