MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — With the government shutdown still ongoing, thousands of flights were cancelled this weekend nationwide, including at South Florida’s airports.

At Miami International Airport Monday morning, lines were continuing to grow at check-in locations, but so too were cancellations.

By 7 a.m., MIA had 35 cancellations, nearly 30 delays and more are expected to come.

On Sunday, there were more than 2,800 flight cancellations and more than 10,000 delays nationwide, making it the most disruptive day of the shutdown thus far.

At MIA, the cancellations and delays left many travelers scrambling and frustrated. 

Local 10 News spoke to travelers who had to spend the night sitting in an airport chair. And they say it’s not only the delays, but airline apps are crashing, freezing and failing to help them rebook.

One woman told us that after her flight was canceled, getting a direct route wasn’t even an option. The only seats left were on connecting flights, adding yet another layer of uncertainty and hoping nothing else went wrong.

“I was expecting a few delays, maybe a few hours, but I wasn’t expecting nearly as many cancellations,” traveler Arianna Chaddock said. “I had about three flight cancellations trying to get to Miami originally, and the options I had were to fly up north and then go south, but there was no guarantee if I flew north then the flight down south wouldn’t get canceled again.”

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is also feeling the effects of the shutdown as they have had 30 cancellations, and 30 delays by 7 a.m.

As of early Monday, airlines had already canceled nearly 1,600 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday.

The Senate took a first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday, but final passage could still be several days away and experts have said it will take time for flights to go back to normal even after the government reopens.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.