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Government Shutdown Could End, but Travel Delays Continue: What Travelers Can Do

There’s progress toward ending the government shutdown, but airports are not yet back to normal.

Although the government shutdown may be ending, air travel won’t immediately return to normal. On Sunday, senators approved a preliminary agreement to end the impasse, yet the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday that it will continue to cancel flights at 40 high-traffic US airports. 

According to NBC News, more than 2,600 flights were canceled on Sunday, representing approximately 10% of all scheduled flights.

The record-long government shutdown has affected air traffic controllers, who are working without pay and were already shorthanded before the disruption began on Oct. 1. 

A representative for the FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even before the flight reductions began last week, passengers had already begun bracing for potential flight disruptions. Last Wednesday morning, CNET Senior Editor Corinne Reichert was buckled into her seat on a Southwest Airlines aircraft, getting ready for an in-state flight in California. While on the runway, the pilot informed passengers that it was unclear whether the shutdown would affect that day’s flights and advised, «Keep your fingers crossed.»

Read on below for what to know about traveling amid the government shutdown. And for other travel tips, see our smart travel checklist, guidelines on travel essentials to pack and how to avoid TSA checkpoint headaches.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Is my airport affected?

These are the 40 airports currently affected, listed in alphabetical order by their three-letter airport code.

  • Anchorage International (ANC)
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
  • Boston Logan International (BOS)
  • Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
  • Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
  • Dallas Love (DAL)
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
  • Denver International (DEN)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
  • Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
  • Newark Liberty International (EWR)
  • Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
  • Honolulu International (HNL)
  • Houston Hobby (HOU)
  • Washington Dulles International (IAD)
  • George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
  • Indianapolis International (IND)
  • New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)
  • Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
  • Los Angeles International (LAX)
  • New York LaGuardia (LGA)
  • Orlando International (MCO)
  • Chicago Midway (MDW)
  • Memphis International (MEM)
  • Miami International (MIA)
  • Minneapolis/St Paul International (MSP)
  • Oakland International (OAK)
  • Ontario International (ONT)
  • Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
  • Portland International (PDX)
  • Philadelphia International (PHL)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
  • San Diego International (SAN)
  • Louisville International (SDF)
  • Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
  • San Francisco International (SFO)
  • Salt Lake City International (SLC)
  • Teterboro (TEB)
  • Tampa International (TPA)

When will delays end?

The flight reductions began with Friday’s flights. 

There appears to have been some progress made toward ending the government shutdown. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that even if the government shutdown ends, flights won’t return to normal instantly, as it will take time to restore staffing levels and schedules.

What should I do before I go to the airport?

Download relevant apps

Load any apps related to your airline or airport onto your phone — they can send you information about delays and cancellations.

Print or download your boarding pass at home

Even if your flight seems unaffected, be prepared for long security and ticket lines, as well as possible changes to your flight schedule. If you can, print or download your boarding pass in advance to save time. 

Shorten your time in the security line

Check to see if your airport has a website that displays the shortest security lines and their corresponding wait times. If you have TSA PreCheck or another expedited security service, now is the time to use it. When booking a flight, make sure your TSA PreCheck number is entered, or you may not see the important logo appear on your boarding pass. 

Numerous airports — including SeaTac, Denver, MSP, JFK, LAX, Phoenix, and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental — offer free programs that allow you to reserve a specific time in a security lane and be ushered right to the front.

Stay on top of delays

Bookmark the National Airspace System Status site and check it to see if there are weather or other delays at the airport you’re using.

What if my flight is canceled?

Don’t waste your time in line

Consult your airline to see if they can reschedule you or refund your payment. You may have to stand in a long line at a service counter, but while in line, you can try rebooking online or calling the airline’s support number. 

Some travelers use social media to send messages to their specific airline, and if those accounts are monitored, it’s possible you’ll get a response that way. And we like this smart suggestion from PBS: Look up your airline’s international support number and call it, because it might be less busy. (At least until word of this trick leaks out.)

Treat the employees with respect

When you finally reach an airline employee for help with rebooking, be patient. This isn’t their fault, and they’re more likely to help you if you’re understanding. 

Be flexible

You’ll have better luck if you’re flexible with times and dates, and you might ask to be rebooked on a partner airline if there’s room available. 

Can you get there another way?

You can also consider canceling your flight and choosing to drive or take some other form of transportation if that fits your circumstances, but if your sister’s wedding is tomorrow, you might not have a choice.

What are the airlines saying?

Delta Air Lines said in a statement before the reductions began that it would work to «minimize customer impact» and would allow passengers «additional flexibility» when it comes to changing or canceling flights without penalty. Details on fee waivers are here.

American Airlines made a similar statement about waiving penalties.

«To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund without any penalty,» American Airlines said.

A United Airlines statement, directed to employees, followed suit. «Any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly — even if their flight isn’t impacted,» the statement said. «That includes nonrefundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.»

Southwest has a similar statement that says «all Southwest Customers, with travel booked through Wednesday, Nov. 12, may adjust their travel plans at no cost, or receive a refund if they choose not to travel, regardless of whether their flight is affected.»

If you’re on another airline, it’s best to check the website for a similar notice. Note that airlines are not required to provide accommodations in a hotel or cover other expenses resulting from travel delays.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 28, #993

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 28 #993

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is pretty tricky. Both the blue and the purple categories really require you to look for hidden connections. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: When you really want something.

Green group hint: Flight attendants also.

Blue group hint: What’s your name?

Purple group hint: Stars and space.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Craving.

Green group: Jobs that involve traveling.

Blue group: Name homophones.

Purple group: Astronomical terms plus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is craving. The four answers are desire, itch, thirst and urge.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is jobs that involve traveling. The four answers are cruise director, pilot, roadie and salesman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is name homophones. The four answers are earnest, kneel, rustle and tailor.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is astronomical terms plus a letter. The four answers are cometh (comet), Novak (nova), start (star) and sung (sun).

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

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Technologies

MWC Barcelona 2026: All the New Tech, Phones, Wearables and AI We Expect to See

This year’s Mobile World Congress starts Monday and will be packed with reveals from Xiaomi, Honor, Nvidia and more.

Every year, the moment we witness the very earliest signs of spring, CNET takes its cue to decamp to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.

This is the world’s most important mobile show, and one of the most exciting events in the tech calendar. This year, we’re sending a bigger team to bring you all the news from the show as it happens.

It’s set to be a bonanza of new phones and wearables, with the odd robot thrown in for good measure. Sure, some of the fun tech we see at MWC never makes it out into the wider world, but we’ve also seen some of our most beloved tech debut at the show over the years — so expect a little of both.

Big themes are set to include AI and 6G, and with keynotes from SpaceX and Qualcomm, we’ll no doubt get a solid glimpse of the future of mobile. With Gemini in everything and satellite dominance on the horizon, it’s an exciting time for the industry. 

Here’s more of what we expect to see.

What are the key dates for MWC?

MWC 2026 is set to run from March 2 to 5, although we’ll be in town a couple of days beforehand to report on some of the big launch events scheduled for this weekend. Don’t miss Xiaomi’s launch event on Feb. 28 and Honor’s event on March 1.

How to watch along

No matter how far away you live from Spain, there’s no need to feel like you’re missing out. The best place for all the latest MWC news is on our CNET live blog. 

We’ve been attending this show for decades (this is MWC’s 20th year in Barcelona, by the way), and we have a team of experienced reporters and reviewers on the ground. 

We’ll show you everything we deem interesting and important, and we’re not just admiring new products from afar. We’re touching, tinkering with and trying not to drop them, so be sure to follow us across Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube, too.

What phones to expect at MWC 2026

For the past few years, Chinese phone-makers have dominated MWC, and 2026 looks to be no different.

The first big phone launch event is scheduled for 6 a.m. PT Saturday, Feb. 28, when we expect Xiaomi to unveil its latest camera-focused flagship. We loved the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and the 14 Ultra before it, so we’re excited to see what the company has in store for us. A teaser image hints at its partnership with premium camera brand Leica and promises a «new wave of imagery.»

Next up, we have Honor on Sunday, March 1, when the company has said it will unveil its Magic V6 phone, alongside the MagicPad 4 and MagicBook Pro 14. Perhaps more exciting still, Honor has said it will give us a first glimpse of a working version of its Robot Phone, and will also unveil a humanoid robot at its event.

For other phone-makers, MWC is likely to serve as more of a victory lap for its existing devices — particularly Samsung, which held its own event in San Francisco this week to unveil the flagship S26 series. Motorola will be in town, likely showing off its Razr, which just like the Samsung Galaxy TriFold, has yet to be seen much in Europe.

On the whole, MWC 2026 is likely to be a big show for foldable phones, which, according to Ben Wood, CMO and chief analyst at CCS Insight, «is now becoming quite a mature category.» 

Another major trend in the phone space is likely to be a focus on batteries, particularly silicon carbon-based tech, Wood said in an MWC preview session. «We’re expecting to see phones with some of the biggest batteries we’ve seen for a long time, [with] fast charging — perhaps 300-watt charging — being introduced,» he added.

MWC 2025: The Coolest Phones We’ve Seen at the Show

+7 More

See all photos

What other tech to expect at MWC 2026

After the early flops that were the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1, we’re seeing more companies moving to jump on the wearable AI bandwagon. We expect to see a number of devices and demos pop up at MWC — perhaps trying to beat OpenAI and Jony Ive to the punch.

This will include AI- and AR-based glasses, said CCS Insight analyst Ben Hatton during the firm’s briefing session. «We are expecting to see a huge number of glasses on show this year, not just from Meta, but also from the smaller players, [like] TCL and Oppo, looking to take a slice of the pie,» he said.

One of the key challenges for these companies will be differentiation, Hatton said. «Ultimately, there’s still a long way to go before these become generally mass market products,» he added, pointing out that at this stage, compelling use cases are still a bit thin on the ground.

It’s been two years since Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring at MWC, and smart rings have been fairly thin on the ground ever since — although Oura CEO Tom Hale is slated to speak at the show. We’re not necessarily expecting to see any new rings this year, but there’s always an outside chance.

Much more likely to show up are a slew of new laptops and tablets. They rarely get top billing at MWC, but we’ll keep an eye out for the most exciting launches. There’s also likely to be some intriguing concepts on show from the likes of Lenovo and Samsung Display, which is responsible for the tech behind the new Galaxy S26 Ultra’s scene-stealing Privacy Display.

The big themes: AI, 6G and beyond

No surprises here that AI will, of course, be a major theme at MWC. For the past few years, Google has dominated the AI conversation at the event by showcasing Gemini’s capabilities and its widespread integration. Will this year be any different? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean the AI conversation has stalled.

We expect to see more sophisticated AI agents that are more deeply integrated into wearables, offering live translation, more actionable health insights and more personalized experiences. Some of the biggest players in the AI game will be present, including Nvidia and Qualcomm, on the hardware side. They’ll likely have saved some juicy announcements for the show and, hopefully, have some exciting demos we can try out.

Wind the clock back a decade, and everyone was talking about 5G and what a dramatic difference it was going to make to our lives. Now that 5G is old news, we’re looking forward to 6G. Most discussions about 6G so far have focused on its impact on the industry, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be excited about.

At the Web Summit in November, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told me that 6G will make our phones faster than ever and connect us to an «always-sensing network.» This could include wearables, smart devices, cars and even robots. No doubt, Amon will expound on this subject further during his MWC keynote, which is all about 6G and AI.

Another theme likely to be prevalent at the show is the role of satellites in enhancing network connectivity. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell will be on stage to talk about Starlink, and all the world’s biggest carriers will have their own booths where they’ll show us what they’re doing to tap into the latest network technologies.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 28.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? As is usual for Saturday, it’s pretty long, and should take you longer than the normal Mini. A bunch of three-initial terms are used in this one. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock’s ___ Leppard
Answer: DEF

4A clue: Cry a river
Answer: SOB

7A clue: Clean Air Act org.
Answer: EPA

8A clue: Org. that pays the Bills?
Answer: NFL

9A clue: Nintendo console with motion sensors
Answer: WII

10A clue: ___-quoted (frequently said)
Answer: OFT

11A clue: With 13-Across, narrow gap between the underside of a house and the ground
Answer: CRAWL

13A clue: See 11-Across
Answer: SPACE

14A clue: Young lady
Answer: GAL

15A clue: Ooh and ___
Answer: AAH

17A clue: Sports org. for Scottie Scheffler
Answer: PGA

18A clue: «Hey, just an F.Y.I. …,» informally
Answer: PSA

19A clue: When doubled, nickname for singer Swift
Answer: TAY

20A clue: Socially timid
Answer: SHY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Morning moisture
Answer: DEW

2D clue: «Game of Thrones» or Homer’s «Odyssey»
Answer: EPICSAGA

3D clue: Good sportsmanship
Answer: FAIRPLAY

4D clue: White mountain toppers
Answer: SNOWCAPS

5D clue: Unrestrained, as a dog at a park
Answer: OFFLEASH

6D clue: Sandwich that might be served «triple-decker»
Answer: BLT

12D clue: Common battery type
Answer: AA

14D clue: Chat___
Answer: GPT

16D clue: It’s for horses, in a classic joke punchline
Answer: HAY

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