A Chance Meeting with a Pilot Reveals a Thanksgiving Travel Nightmare Ahead"

SAN FRANCISCO - Nov. 7, 2025 - PRLog -- I was taking a morning walk along the San Francisco Bay in Burlingame, California, when a tall, heavy-set man came walking beside me. We struck up a casual conversation as I tried to keep pace with his long strides.

"I'm a pilot," he revealed after a while. "Just trying to get in my steps," he added with a grin.

What an auspicious encounter, I thought. Even as an adult, I've always been fascinated by pilots—their calm confidence, their mysterious command of the skies. I didn't waste time before launching a flurry of questions: How long does it take to become a pilot? Aren't most pilots supposed to be older?

Then, inevitably, I steered the conversation toward the ongoing government shutdown and how it might affect passengers. "Why can't the airlines just pay the air traffic controllers directly," I asked, "instead of leaving everything to the federal government?"

He chuckled. "It depends on the airport. Smaller ones aren't as affected as the big ones," he explained. He mostly flew between smaller airports himself. "But remember—controllers are federal employees. The government pays them, not the airlines. Some airlines have been helping out, though—sending meals, snacks, sandwiches—just to lift their spirits while this shutdown drags on."

His comment lingered with me. Of course, there are sound safety and oversight reasons why air controllers work for the federal government. But still, the inefficiencies and bureaucracy—so clearly exposed by the shutdown—seem to undercut those very benefits. Flight delays, safety worries… all the turbulence of politics spilling into the skies.

When I asked what might happen if the shutdown stretched into Thanksgiving, he didn't hesitate. "It'll get worse," he said flatly. "A passenger's nightmare."

"What about people who already bought their tickets?" I asked.

"They should cancel and ask for refunds," he said.

That answer hit close to home. My sons had already bought their tickets to come home for Thanksgiving. Should I tell them to cancel? Or let them decide—take the chance and hope for the best? I imagined thousands of other families wrestling with the same uncertainty, juggling travel plans against the unpredictable winds of politics.

As the pilot veered off to the right fork in the trail, I continued straight, alone with my thoughts. The morning air was crisp, the bay shrouded in a thick sheet of cloud that stretched as far as the eye could see. Only faint glimmers of sunlight broke through, striking patches of water and stirring gentle ripples across the otherwise calm surface.

End.

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