The shutdown of the United States Government continues to
impact travel, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that air
traffic control staffing issues have delayed flights at airports in New York,
Washington, Newark, and Houston.
According to Reuters.com,
FAA officials revealed on Thursday night that ground stops were issued at George
Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Newark Liberty International
Airport outside New York City due to staffing shortages.
In addition, flights at Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National
Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport were experiencing significant delays,
while staffing issues were reported at 10 different cities.
According to FlightAware.com, over 6,000 flights were
delayed in the U.S. on Thursday, and another 900-plus had been delayed on
Friday morning, as of 9 a.m. ET. Alaska Airlines was also dealing with the
aftermath of a technical
issue on Friday that increased the total number of flight cancellations.
In total, an estimated 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are currently working without
pay due to the ongoing government shutdown.
In response, President Donald Trump and his administration have
expressed concern that delays and cancellations could increase ahead of the
busy upcoming holiday season as the government shutdown continues and employees
start missing paychecks.
“We fear there will be significant flight delays,
disruptions, and cancellations in major airports across the country this
holiday season,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “If
Democrats continue to shut down the government, they will also be shutting down
American air travel.”
In 2019, a 35-day government shutdown led to a high number
of absences among controllers and TSA officers due to missed paychecks,
resulting in longer checkpoint wait times at airports and flight delays.
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