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US airports have reported more than 20 incidents of air traffic controller shortages on Saturday, said Sean Duffy, transportation secretary, in the latest sign of the government shutdown’s impact.
A ground stop was issued by the agency at Los Angeles international airport due to the air traffic controller staffing shortages at around 11.30am ET (15.30 GMT). The restriction covered most of the southern California region and delays are likely when flights resume.
By noon ET on Sunday, the agency had recorded shortfalls in air traffic controllers at six US airports.
The Trump administration warned flight disruptions are expected to increase as the shutdown drags on.
Duffy told the Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures program that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Saturday had 22 “triggers” that indicated shortages of air traffic controllers. He said that figure was “one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system” since 1 October.
“That’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin,” Duffy said.
According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, there were more than 5,300 US flight delays on Saturday and more than 2,500 by 12pm ET on Sunday. Since the shutdown began, delays have often been above average.
According to the FAA, air traffic control staffing issues had already been reported on Sunday for Chicago and Newark flights.
Through the shutdown of the federal government, around 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers must work without pay during the shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked over passing a federal budget.
“This shutdown has real consequences for these hard-working American patriots,” said Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), in a statement last week. “With each passing day, controllers become more distracted by the risk of receiving a zero-dollar paycheck on 28 October, despite working 40 hours per week and, in many cases, mandatory overtime due to the controller staffing shortage.”
Air traffic controllers received a paycheck two weeks ago at around 90% of their regular pay, but Tuesday will mark their first fully unpaid pay period for work in October.
Duffy noted air traffic controllers have been taking on second jobs to try to supplement the lost income.
“They’re taking second jobs, they’re out there looking,” he said.
The FAA is around 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels, which had many to work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks before the shutdown began.
The shutdown also forced employees in training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma to be sent home on 3 October.
“It can take three to five years to fully train a technician,” said Dave Spero, President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (Pass), which represents 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense. “Any lapse in training can push the clock back, as it did during the academy’s closure during the pandemic.”
“For every day the government is shut down and employees in the aviation ecosystem are still furloughed, another layer of safety may be peeled away,” added Spero. “The furloughed employees want to be back on the job, all of the employees need to be paid and they want to start actively contributing to the modernization of the air traffic control system. We call on Congress to open the government as soon as possible.”
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, absences by controllers and TSA officers increased throughout the shutdown, resulting in extended wait times at some airport check points and forcing authorities to slow air traffic in New York and Washington DC.
