On Sunday, local time, as the U.S. government shutdown entered its 26th day, the lack of air traffic controllers continued to disrupt air travel, with more than 8,000 flights delayed across the United States. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was experiencing problems with air traffic controllers at 22 locations on Saturday, adding that staffing shortages were expected to lead to more flight delays and cancellations in the coming days.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, as of 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday (11 a.m. Beijing time on Monday), more than 8,000 U.S. flights were delayed, up from about 5,300 on Saturday. Since the government shutdown began on October 1, flight delays have regularly been above average.
FlightAware data shows that Southwest Airlines had 45% of its flights delayed on Sunday, or 2,000 flights; American Airlines had nearly 1,200 flights delayed, or one-third of its flights. United Airlines had 24%, or 739 flights, delayed; Delta Air Lines had 610 flights, or 17%, delayed.
Currently, about 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must continue to work, even though they are not receiving pay during the shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration's current air traffic controller count is about 3,500 short of reaching target staffing levels, and many were forced to work overtime and six days a week even before the government shutdown.
In 2019, during the 35-day government shutdown, absenteeism among air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers rose as workers were owed wages, leading to longer wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington.
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Air traffic control centers in the United States are once again short of staff, and employees in important positions are working without pay amid the government shutdown.