Only one week into the federal-government shutdown, the U.S. aviation system is already feeling the strain. Flight-data expert FlightAware reported that U.S. airports delayed over 9,000 flights on Monday and Tuesday. Staffing shortages at federal air-traffic control facilities across the nation forced authorities to reduce the number of takeoffs and landings at several airports.
Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, confirmed on Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration had noticed a “slight tick up” in sick leave requests from air traffic control employees. “You’ll see delays that come from that,” Duffy said at a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. “If we think there are issues in the airspace, we will shut it down,” he added.
Low airline staffing leads to large delays at U.S. airports
The U.S. aviation system is already experiencing stress after just one week of the federal-government shutdown. Flight-data expert FlightAware reports that more than 9,000 flights into and out of U.S. airports experienced delays on Monday and Tuesday. Lack of staff at federal air traffic control facilities across the country has prompted authorities to reduce takeoffs and landings at several airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration has observed a “slight tick up” in sick leave requests from air traffic control staff, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed Monday. “You have a system under pressure that now just has another 100 pounds of weight on it,” said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots.
On Tuesday, numerous delays were caused by a lack of staff. According to the FAA, the average delay for flights at Nashville International Airport was over two hours.
Impact of low airline staffing
These delays made an already lengthy layover intolerable for Katy Fry, a 33-year-old Nashville software engineer. After traveling alone to Scotland, Fry arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, anticipating a six-hour wait before her flight home. She waited longer and went hungry as a result of the staffing shortage. “I haven’t had a real meal today,” said Fry, who has celiac disease.
Due to staffing shortages, Chicago O’Hare International Airport experienced delays of over 40 minutes on Tuesday as well, the FAA reported. Due to staffing shortages, Hollywood Burbank Airport near Los Angeles had to temporarily halt air traffic control operations for several hours the day before, requiring a regional facility to manage arrivals and departures.
Callouts related to the shutdown have made the already precarious air traffic control staffing situation in the country worse. According to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union represents roughly 10,800 controllers across more than 300 facilities, which is significantly less than the 14,633 staffing level that was agreed upon.
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