As the shutdown of the federal government moves through its second week, Americans are finding it increasingly more difficult to catch flights out of U.S. airports on time.
Staffing shortages led to more flight delays at airports across the U.S. this week, and union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners are warning the situation was likely to get worse before it got better.
According to a report from The Associated Press, the Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing issues at airports in Nashville, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia, and at its air traffic control centers in Atlanta and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The agency temporarily slowed takeoffs of planes headed to the first three cities.
The FAA reported delays on Monday at the airports in Burbank, California, Newark, New Jersey and Denver.
Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt told the AP that the risk of “significant disruptions” to the U.S. aviation system “is growing by the day” as federal workers whose jobs are deemed critical continue working without pay. The longer the shutdown drags on, the more likely it is to affect holiday travel plans in November, he said.
“I’m gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down then, that it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans’ Thanksgiving holidays,” Harteveldt said in a statement.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that there has already been an uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick in a few locations. When there aren’t enough controllers, the FAA must reduce the number of takeoffs and landings to maintain safety, which in turn causes flight delays and possible cancellations, the AP reported.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told the AP the shutdown highlighted some of his union’s members already face on a regular basis due to a national airspace system that is critically understaffed and relies on outdated equipment that tends to fail.
A couple of controllers missing work can have a big impact at a small airport already operating with limited tower staffing, he said.
“It’s not like we have other controllers that can suddenly come to that facility and staff them. There’s not enough people there,” Daniels said, according to the AP. “There’s no overtime, and you have to be certified in that facility.”
