Air traffic control staffing shortages due to US govt shutdown lead to travel chaos

WASHINGTON – Thousands of flights on Nov 8 were snarled by air traffic control staffing shortages as a government shutdown caused mounting travel woes and raised alarm among airline officials.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said there were staffing issues affecting 42 airport towers and other centres and delaying flights in at least 12 major US cities – including Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Flights crossing six different high-traffic areas were also facing delays.

Some 1,500 flights were cancelled and 6,000 flights were delayed on Nov 8, compared with the day before when 1,025 were canned and 7,000 were disrupted.

Airline officials privately said the number of delay programmes made it nearly impossible to schedule and plan many flights. They expressed alarm about how the system would function if staffing issues worsen.

Flight reductions to increase on Nov 11

The FAA instructed airlines to cut 4 per cent of daily flights starting on Nov 7 at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns. The shutdown, which has reached a record 39 days, has led to shortages of air traffic controllers who, like other federal employees, have not been paid for weeks.

Reductions in flights are mandated to rise to 6 per cent on Nov 11 and hit 10 per cent by Nov 14.

The staff absences prompted the FAA to impose ground delay programmes at nine airports on Nov 8, with delays averaging 282 minutes for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest airports.

The cuts, which began on the morning of Nov 7, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

The four airlines cancelled about the same number of flights on Nov 8, under the FAA mandate, but were forced to withdraw additional flights due to air traffic control staffing issues.

Earlier last week, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said 20 to 40 per cent of controllers had not been showing up for work over the previous several days.

During a Senate debate on Nov 7, Senator Ted Cruz blamed the shutdown for air traffic control concerns.

The Texas Republican, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said he was told that since the shutdown started, pilots had filed more than 500 voluntary safety reports about mistakes made by air traffic controllers because of fatigue.

Talks to end shutdown look positive

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Nov 8 that bipartisan talks to end the shutdown had taken a positive turn, but the workday ended with no deals announced.

The Senate is to try again with a rare Sunday session on Nov 9.

During the government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism.

Many controllers were notified on Nov 6 that they would receive no compensation for a second consecutive pay period this week.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible he could require 20 per cent cuts in air traffic if more controllers stop showing up for work. “I assess the data,” he added. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.”

The Trump administration has cited air traffic control problems as Republicans try to pressure Senate Democrats to back what they call a “clean” government funding Bill with no strings attached.

Democrats blame the shutdown on a Republican refusal to negotiate over health insurance subsidies that will expire at the end of 2025. REUTERS