WASHINGTON: Aviation turmoil deepened with more than 4,300 flights delayed nationwide on Monday after more than 8,800 delays on Sunday, with air traffic controller absences growing as the federal government shutdown reached its 27th day.
The Federal Aviation Administration cited staffing shortages affecting flights across the Southeast and at Newark Airport in New Jersey, while the agency imposed a ground stop at Austin Airport in Texas and a ground delay program at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport that delayed flights by an average of 18 minutes.
Southwest Airlines LUV.N had 47%, or 2,089, of its flights delayed on Sunday, while American Airlines AAL.O had 1,277, or 36% of its flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. United Airlines UAL.O had 27%, or 807, of its flights delayed and Delta Air Lines DAL.N had 21%, or 725, of its flights delayed.
About 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay. The Trump administration has warned that flight disruptions will increase as air traffic controllers miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday.
As of Monday, Southwest had 24% of flights delayed, American 18% and Delta 13% as of 6 p.m. 5:00 PM ET (2100 GMT), according to FlightAware.
A US Department of Transportation official said 44% of Sunday’s delays were due to the absence of controllers – a sharp increase from the usual 5%.
The growing delays and cancellations are fueling public frustration and intensifying scrutiny of the shutdown’s impact, increasing pressure on lawmakers to resolve the budget impasse.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was in Cleveland to meet with air traffic controllers on Monday, while the National Air Traffic Controllers Association plans events at several airports on Tuesday to highlight the first lost paycheck.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of the targeted staff, and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, absenteeism from controllers and TSA officers increased as workers missed paychecks, lengthening wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities were forced to slow down air traffic in New York and Washington.
