US govt shutdown to fuel airfares on India-US route:Flight ticket prices from New Delhi to Washington soar to ₹48,000

If you are planning for an US trip, then, get ready to cough up more money as airfares might skyrocket going forward thanks to the ongoing US government shutdown. Travel time can also increase with frustrating and painful long overhauls, experts have warned. Lets look at how much airfares hover around, currently: As of Sunday, the cities in which flights operations have hit turbulence are Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta, Denver and Dallas. Experts have warned that if situation worsens then, the airfares might take-off. Flights been cancelled delayed: Hitherto, 1,000 flights have been cancelled and 5,000 have been delayed. Why flights are getting cancelled due to US government shutdown? The shutdown began on 1 October 2025. Its been 40 days now! But still there is no clarity! The main reason why this has led to widespread flight operation disruptions is that the air traffic controllers have not been paid leading to mass leaves and shortage of ‘air traffic control staffing’. Reportedly, some workers have being put on six days week work and are being subject to overtime. American Airlines said that it would avoid cancellations of international flights with long overhauls. FAA: Reduce operations at 40 airports across America Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that it had directed reduction of operations at ’40 high traffic airports’ across America. FAA said it reduced operations for safety of fliers. How big is India’s aviation industry? The Indian aviation market is valued at $14.78 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow to $26.08 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.03%. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is currently the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world.