Over 4,000 flights were delayed Monday across the U.S., as the Federal Aviation Administration continues to struggle with staffing shortages caused by the ongoing government shutdown.
A total of 4,445 flights within, into, or out of America had been affected as of Monday afternoon, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. A total of 67 flights have been canceled.
It came after the FAA announced that air traffic control staffing issues delayed travel at airports in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and New Jersey late Sunday. More than 20 percent of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flights were also delayed, according to FlightAware.
The agency said numerous staffing triggers had been received for the Sunday evening shift and flights could also be delayed in Las Vegas and Phoenix because of air traffic control absences.
Most airport issues appeared to have been resolved by Monday morning, though a staffing trigger was in place in Philadelphia, which also affects traffic going into Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work during the government shutdown, but are not being paid.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, noted that many air traffic controllers were now seeking alternate sources of income to “keep their families afloat” while the shutdown – which has now entered its 19th day – continues.
Earlier this month, more than 23,000 flights were delayed over a week, with Duffy blaming over half 53 (percent) of delays on staffing issues, compared with the usual 5 percent. Despite this he told workers to “show up for work,” regardless.
Air traffic control has become a flashpoint in the debate over the shutdown with both Republicans and Democrats blaming the other. Unions and airlines have urged a quick end to the standoff.
The Trump administration has aired videos at some airport security checkpoints blaming Democrats, but many airports have refused to run them.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff.
