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The Federal Aviation Administration said late Sunday that air traffic control staffing issues were delaying travel at airports in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Newark as a U.S. government shutdown hit its 19th day. By Monday morning, staffing issues at most of those airports seemed to have been resolved. A staffing trigger was in place in Philadelphia, which also affects traffic going into the Newark International Airport. It wasn't immediately clear whether this staffing trigger affected flight times. As of early Monday, 846 flights within the U.S. had been delayed, according to FlightAware, but airports in Philadelphia and Newark did not top the list of delays. The FAA said Sunday night that numerous staffing triggers had been received for the evening shift, and flights could also be delayed in Las Vegas and Phoenix because of air traffic control absences. Neither airport had a staffing trigger listed on Monday morning. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on Monday morning appeared to address the issue on "Fox and Friends," noting that due to the current government shutdown, air traffic controllers will not be paid, so a lot of them are seeking other work to "keep their families afloat," Duffy said. "I hope we don't see more disruptions. But as this gets closer to payday, I think you could see more of that through the airspace," Duffy acknowledged. FlightAware said more than 7,600 flights had been delayed on Sunday. Weather issues and a Formula 1 race in Austin were also affecting flights. More than 20% of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flights were delayed on Sunday, according to FlightAware. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work during the government shutdown, but are not being paid. Earlier this month, more than 23,000 flights were delayed over a week and Duffy said 53% of flight delays were due to staffing issues, compared with 5% normally, but staffing issues have largely improved over the last week. Air traffic control has become a flashpoint in the debate over the shutdown, with both parties blaming the other. Unions and airlines have urged a quick end to the standoff. The Trump administration is airing videos at some airport security checkpoints blaming Democrats, but many airports have refused to run them. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels, and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
