‘The supply chain slows’: Lincoln shoppers buying before the holidays amid government shutdown

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Flights are being cut across 40 major U.S. airports as some unpaid air traffic controllers stay home during the government shutdown.

The effects are already spilling into holiday shipping and consumer trends.

The Federal Aviation Administration cancelled 11 flights after a UPS plane crash on Thursday.

Brandon Fried, executive director of the Air Forwarders Association, said flight reductions will worsen the disruption already being felt across the aviation sector as the federal government shutdown stretches on.

“When capacity is cut and federal employees are stretched thin, the supply chain slows, and the longer this shutdown continues, the worse it will get,” Fried said.

A shopper in Lincoln said she’s shopping earlier, just in case, and doesn’t want what’s happening in Washington to affect her family’s holiday.

Another customer said she would travel earlier than usual and buy gifts ahead of schedule to avoid any last-minute surprises.