Flight delays pile up across US as shutdown persists

WASHINGTON - Airports across the US, including in Chicago and Dallas, have been

plagued by delays

this week as they struggle with air traffic controller shortages caused by the US government shutdown.

Flights headed to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were delayed by about 41 minutes amid staffing issues on the evening of Oct 7, according to an advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration. Delays also were reported at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a main hub for American Airlines Group Inc, and Nashville International Airport – adding to disruptions that have been occurring nationwide for several days.

The airports were operating normally again as of the morning of Oct 8, but the challenges are expected to persist as the shutdown stretches on.

Despite last night’s disruptions, aviation analytics company Cirium found that, as of the evening of Oct 7, about 92 per cent of flights departed US airports on time.

Democrats and Republicans remain at an impasse over a deal to fund the government. 

Certain government personnel, including more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and more than 61,000 Transportation Security Administration employees, continue working during the shutdown without pay. During past shutdowns, the situation has resulted in an increase in employees calling out sick.

The stalemate also may threaten a programme, favoured by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers, that provides federal subsidies to airlines to maintain flights to small and rural US communities.

Funding for the so-called essential air service is expected to dry up as soon as of Oct 12 if the government remains closed, the US Transportation Department said earlier this week.

The programme, established when the airline industry was deregulated in 1978 to maintain air connectivity to communities that are not profitable for carriers, supports about 170 airports across the US and in Puerto Rico. BLOOMBERG