🔗 Share this article

Travelers across the United States are bracing for growing disruptions as workforce gaps at airports continue to worsen during the current government closure, now entering its seventh day.

Growing Concerns Over Aviation System

Labor leaders for air traffic controllers and TSA agents have cautioned that the circumstances is likely to deteriorate, with staffing challenges reported at several key airports including locations such as Nashville, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia.

"The risk of wider impacts to the American air travel network is growing by the day," stated travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt.

He voiced grave concern that if the shutdown continues, it could possibly interfere with millions of Americans' Thanksgiving travel plans in November.

Flight Delays and Operational Issues

Staffing shortages, including an elevated number of workers taking sick leave, impacted key facilities around Denver, Los Angeles and New York on Monday, causing postponements affecting more than 6,000 flights across the country.

• Burbank airport's air traffic control was temporarily closed and operations were handled by a different location
• The Nashville facility reported delays of approximately two hours due to workforce challenges
• Chicago's O'Hare recorded typical postponements of 41 minutes
• The DFW airport had postponements recorded at 30 minutes

Industry Response and Union Position

The primary air traffic controllers union stressed that it does not endorse any organized actions that could negatively affect the National Airspace System.

The union stated that flight controllers value their duty to protect public safety extremely earnestly and engaging in any work stoppage could result in termination of employment.

Government Perspective

Transportation Secretary the transportation official warned that the national flight control network is suffering damage from the ongoing government shutdown.

"They aren't only thinking about the flight paths," he commented regarding flight controllers who are not receiving salaries. "They're thinking about, 'Am I going to get a paycheck'?"

The official observed that many controllers depend on regular income and are unable to manage prolonged durations without payment.

Broader Implications

According to emergency preparations, approximately 25% of the employees, or over eleven thousand aviation administration workers, were temporarily laid off when the shutdown began last week.

However, 13,000 air traffic controllers continue working, with recruitment and instruction also ongoing.

Union president Nick Daniels indicated that the shutdown has emphasized preexisting issues faced by flight controllers, including workforce gaps and aging technology.

He explained that the situation is particularly grave at smaller airports where limited staffing creates additional challenges.

Despite the extensive postponements, flight data indicated that roughly ninety-two percent of flights departing from US airports departed as scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon.

The aviation regulator had not issued a "workforce threshold" that would reduce the number of flights in and out of airports, indicating that operations were continuing despite the challenges.