Nearly 50% of the 30 busiest US airports faced shortages of air traffic controllers on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said, leading to widespread flight delays as the federal government shutdown entered its 31st day. The absence of controllers was the most widespread since the shutdown began, with New York particularly hard hit, where 80% of controllers were absent.
At least 35 FAA facilities reported staffing problems, including airports in New York City, Austin, Newark, Phoenix, Washington, Nashville, Dallas and Denver. At some airports, delays averaged one hour or more. The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay.
“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue,” the FAA said late on Friday. “The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travellers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”
More than 5,600 flights were delayed on Friday and 500 cancelled, according to FlightAware. At New York’s LaGuardia airport, 50% of flights were delayed and 12% cancelled, with delays averaging 140 minutes. Washington DC’s Reagan National airport had a quarter of flights delayed.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of further disruptions: “Coming into this weekend and then the week after, I think you are going to see even more disruptions in the airspace.” Major airlines including Delta, United, Southwest and American have called on Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill to reopen the government.
The shutdown, which began on 1 October, has exacerbated existing staffing shortages. The FAA is about 3,500 controllers short of targeted levels, and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
