FAA says US air traffic control staffing issues cause more flight delays | Latest Travel News
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (GWN) -The Federal Aviation Administration said late Sunday that air traffic control staffing issues had been delaying journey at airports in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Newark as a U.S. authorities shutdown hit its nineteenth day.
The FAA said quite a few staffing triggers had been acquired for the night shift and flights may also be delayed in Las Vegas and Phoenix because of air traffic control absences.
FlightAware said more than 5,800 flights had been delayed on Sunday. Weather issues and a Formula 1 race in Austin had been also impacting flights.
More than 20% of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flights had been delayed Sunday, according to FlightAware.
Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work during the federal government shutdown, but should not being paid.
Earlier this month, more than 23,000 flights had been delayed over a week and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said 53% of flight delays had been due to staffing issues, in contrast with 5% usually, but staffing issues have largely improved over the last week.
Air traffic control has turn out to be a flashpoint in the controversy over the shutdown with both events blaming the other. Unions and airways have urged a fast end to the standoff.
The Trump administration is airing videos at some airport security checkpoints blaming Democrats, but many airports have refused to run them.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the quantity of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as staff missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait occasions at some airports. Authorities had been compelled to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, which put strain on lawmakers to rapidly end the standoff.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of focused staffing ranges and many had been working obligatory time beyond regulation and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill and Diane Craft)
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