Poll: Many Americans worried about canceled travel or changes to vacation plans following government shutdown
While the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally over, the impacts on travel continue — and they’ve left some travelers now even more fearful of traveling.
The Points Guy commissioned a YouGov poll to examine the impact of the government shutdown on travelers and the ensuing chaos, and came up with some interesting findings. Among them?
Among U.S. adults planning a trip for Thanksgiving or Christmas:
- 41% of Thanksgiving travelers responded that current travel disruptions have caused them to cancel, reschedule or adjust their Thanksgiving travel plans
- 40% of Christmas travelers responded that current travel disruptions have caused them to cancel, reschedule or adjust their Christmas travel plans
- 48% of all U.S. adults responded that they were very or somewhat worried about flying for safety reasons due to the government shutdown and/or air traffic controller shortage
These people make up a sizable portion of the flying public – especially considering we are fast approaching some of the busiest travel times of the year.
That’s what our new survey finds.
fear of flying
One of the most interesting findings from the latest TPG-YouGov survey is that nearly half of Americans are worried about flying due to the government shutdown and air traffic controller shortage.
A whopping 48% of Americans say they are “very” or “somewhat” worried about flying for safety reasons, while 20% are “not too worried” or “not worried at all.”
This indicates that there are some ongoing concerns about the overall security of the system.
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The survey was conducted on Nov. 11 and 12, as the government shutdown was coming to an end.
thanksgiving trip
Of the people we surveyed who planned to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, about 4 in 10 (41%) have either reconsidered their trip or actually changed or canceled it. Eighteen percent said they had canceled travel plans. Another 15% said they had adjusted their plans (such as driving or taking a train instead of flying). This is a large segment of the flying public.
Christmas travel
We saw similar numbers during our Christmas travel period. Of those planning a Christmas trip, 6% said they had rescheduled their flights. Another 15% said they had adjusted their plans and opted to drive or take the train. A whopping 19% of those who had planned a Christmas trip said they had canceled their travel plans entirely.
It will be interesting to see if those numbers hold up now that the government crisis is over — but it’s clear that the 43-day government shutdown has left its mark on the 2026 holiday season.
bottom line
Despite recent government shutdowns and travel disruptions, most Americans still plan to travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But a significant number of people are so concerned that they have changed or canceled their travel plans.
While we don’t have data yet on what holiday prices mean and the likelihood of last-minute deals, you can be sure we’ll bring these details to you as we get them.
Related reading:
Methodology:
The Points Guy commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. Unless otherwise stated, all data comes from YouGov Plc. The total sample was 1,185 U.S. adults. The field survey was conducted on November 11 and 12, 2025. Surveys are conducted online and meet strict quality standards. It collects a non-probability sample and uses population quotas and weights to better align the survey sample with the broader U.S. population.
