Government shutdown disrupts flights, air traffic control: NPR

Travelers across the United States are beginning to feel the impacts of the government shutdown, as air traffic staffing shortages disrupt flights across the country.

A dozen Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities experienced staffing shortages Monday, according to an evening advisory from the agency.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a news conference at one of them, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where he blamed nationwide delays on a “slight tick-up in sick calls” by air traffic control workers.

Duffy said controllers were concerned about working without pay during the shutdown, with some considering taking second jobs, such as calling in sick to drive Uber. And he warned that disruptions could get worse until the government reopens.

“If we see that there are issues in the tower that are affecting the controllers’ ability to effectively control the airspace, we will reduce the rate and you will see more delays or you might see a cancellation,” Duffy said. “I’m ready to do it before we’re ready to risk anyone’s life in the air.”

In a statement shared with NPR, the FAA says it is “slowing traffic at certain airports to ensure safe operations” when there are increased staffing shortages. It directs travelers to its website for real-time flight impacts for every U.S. airport.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle blame each other for the shutdown and the ensuing travel snafus. The government shutdown on October 1 after partisan disagreements, largely over health care subsidies, prevented the Senate from passing a funding bill.

Air traffic controllers played a key role in ending the last government shutdown, which spanned 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.

Only an FAA-described “slight increase” in sick leave at two air traffic control facilities has thrown major East Coast airports into chaos and increased pressure on the Trump administration to finally reach a spending deal with Congress.

Long-standing staffing shortages – exacerbated by insufficient hiring, extensive training deadlines, and high attrition rates – remained a problem in the years since. As Monday’s events show, even a small number of sick calls can have a big impact.

Which airports were affected?

According to the FAA, Monday’s delays affected airspace across the country, including Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.

Newark and Denver airports have both seen field delays due to staffing issues, according to the FAA. Flights were delayed an average of 53 minutes from Newark and 39 minutes from Denver, although some were held up by closer to two hours.

Perhaps the greatest disruptions were felt at Hollywood Burbank Airport near Los Angeles, which experienced average ground delays of two and a half hours. There were no air traffic controllers for more than five hours Monday, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Newsom blamed President Trump in a tweet, writing: “Burbank Airport has no air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. today due to your government shutdown.”

The air traffic control tower at Burbank Hollywood Airport in Burbank, California, was unstaffed for a five-hour window Monday.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Another aviation control facility, Southern California Tracon, remotely directed San Diego operations during this period.

Burbank Airport did not respond to NPR’s request for comment. It said in a Monday evening tweet that its operations were continuing and urged travelers to check with their airlines about potential disruptions.

What do air traffic controllers say?

At Duffy’s Newark press conference, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Colenterrs Association (NATCA), specifically avoided politics as he called for an end to the shutdown.

“We must end this shutdown so that the Federal Aviation Administration and committed aviation safety professionals can put this distraction aside and focus completely on their vital work,” Daniels said.

NATCA, which represents more than 20,000 air traffic controllers, says many of its members were already working 10-hour days, six days a week, and that the shutdown put them under additional strain from safety support staff and the suspension of support programs.

Its website has a notice warning its members that “participating in professional action could result in removal from federal service,” saying such behavior is not only illegal, but also “compromises Natca’s credibility.”

In a statement to NPR, NATCA said that nearly 11,000 fully certified screeners remain on the job, and it is normal for a few to call in sick on any given day.

But Monday’s events are also said to underscore the fragility of the country’s aviation system and the “urgent need to accelerate training and hiring.”

Since the start of the Second Trump Administration, Duffy has pushed for an overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control systems — parts of which still rely on floppy disks and run Windows 95 — and prioritized efforts to “supercharge” hiring.

Duffy said Monday that the shutdown hampers those efforts, now and potentially in the future.

“It has a more lasting impact on our ability to break ground in the shortages that we have right now with air traffic controllers,” he said. “It has a big impact … on our system at a time when we are trying to reduce stress.”

A view of the FAA air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday, as staffing shortages caused flight delays there and at other airports.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

How else might the shutdown affect air travel?

The government shutdown could also have big consequences for rural airports.

Duffy warned that Essential Air Service (EAS), a federal program that subsidizes commercial service to rural airports in about 170 U.S. communities, may no longer fund Sundays.

“Every state across the country will be affected by the failure to provide the subsidies for airlines to serve these communities,” Duffy said, adding that Alaska will be the hardest hit.

The White House proposed cutting funds for the program by more than 50% earlier this year, despite the fact that it has long-standing bipartisan support in Congress, as Duffy himself acknowledged Monday.

Natasha Marquez, a regional airline association spokesperson, told NPR in a statement that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the EAS supported more than 17,000 American jobs and enabled the operation of hundreds of daily flights from airports with an average distance of 200 miles from the nearest medium or large hub airport — meaning many travelers could feel the impacts.

It’s not immediately clear when passengers would notice a change. Airlines typically seek government reimbursement at the beginning of the month for flights from the previous month, according to the Department of Transportation.