Sean Duffy, American transport secretary, at a press conference in Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, United States, Monday, October 6, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty images
The Federal Aviation Administration said that personnel problems caused delays in several airports, including Newark and Denver on Monday, just hours after the senior US transport said that air traffic controllers calling for patients had increased slightly since the government is starting.
Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and approximately 50,000 agents of the transport security administration must always come to work during the closure. They are not paid and the controllers should miss their first pay check on October 14.
Transport secretary, Sean Duffy, said that sometimes air traffic staff has been reduced by 50% in certain regions since the start of closing last week.
The FAA said that air trafficking endowment endowment problems have an impact on flights in many airports, including Newark, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Burbank. Flightaware said more than 4,000 flights to the United States were delayed on Monday, including 29% of flights arriving in Denver, 19% of Newark flights and 15% of Las Vegas flights. Weather problems also have an impact on flights.
President Donald Trump has transported a focal point in a government closure battle with democrats, reducing more than $ 28 billion in assistance for climate programs, metros, tunnels and public transport in democratic states, including New York and Illinois.
Delays will result from the reduction of staff, said Duffy, adding that if the disease calls increase, the air flow will be reduced to a rate that maintains air security.
Duffy and the President of the National Air Traffic Cuellers Association spoke during a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport to discuss the effects of the closure. The airport is one of the three in the service of the highly democratic New York metropolitan region and is a large Hub United Airlines Ual.O.
Duffy noted that the controllers are worried. “They think, will I get a pay check?” Said Duffy, adding that some wonder: “Should I take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted to do a job that is already stressful?”
On Monday, the union reminded the workers: “Participating in professional action could lead to the withdrawal of the federal service” and that it is illegal.
“It is more important than ever that we are going on occasion and that we continue to provide the coherent public service level that we provide every day,” the union told members. “We cannot insist enough for it to be essential to avoid any actions that might think about you, our union or our professions.”
In 2019, during a closure of 35 days, the number of absences by controllers and agents of the administration of transport of transport increased while workers lacked payroll checks, extending the waiting times in certain airports. The authorities were forced to slow down air traffic in New York, which has put pressure on the legislators to quickly end the deadlock.
The president of the time, Nancy Pelosi, a democrat, said at the time that the closure “pushed our airspace towards the breakdown”.
Airline Trade Group Group Airlines for America, which represents United, Delta Air Lines Dal.N, American Airlines Aal.O and Southwest Airlines Luv.n, warned that during a funding laps “, the system may need to slow down, reduce efficiency” and is impacting on travelers.
A persistent controller shortage has delayed flights and many work on compulsory overtime and six -day weeks. The FAA is around 3,500 air traffic controllers at less targeted endowment levels.
