Flight delays continue at U.S. airports on Sunday air traffic controller shortage New Jersey’s Newark airport is experiencing delays of two to three hours as the government shutdown enters its second month.
The New York City Office of Emergency Management stated X Delays in Newark often spread to other airports in the region.
traveler The social media post added that flights to, from or through New York “should expect schedule changes, gate holds and missed connections. Anyone flying today should check flight status before heading to the airport and expect longer wait times.”
There were also dozens of delays and one or two cancellations at Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Dallas-Fort Worth International and Chicago O’Hare, as well as major airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami, FlightAware reported.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy There have been warnings that the longer controllers go without pay, the more disruptions travelers will start to see.
“We’re working overtime to make sure the system is safe. We’re going to slow down traffic, you’re going to see delays, we’re going to cancel flights to make the system safe,” Duffy said on SundayCBS’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
He also said he has no plans to fire air traffic controllers who don’t work.
“I’m not going to fire air traffic controllers when they decide to feed their families again,” Duffy said. “They need support, they need money, they need paychecks. They don’t need to be laid off.”
In early October, Duffy warned air traffic controllers they could be fired if they called in sick instead of working without pay during the government shutdown. Even a handful of controllers missing work can cause problems because the FAA has a severe shortage of controllers.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay for weeks.
Both regional control centers that manage multiple airports and individual airport towers can experience staff shortages, but this does not always result in flight disruptions. Flight on-time performance at most major U.S. airports was strong in October, despite individual staffing issues throughout the month, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Before the shutdown, the FAA was already dealing with a chronic shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers.