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A mix of shutdown-induced staffing shortages at air traffic control centers and high winds on the East Coast is expected to snarl air travel across the U.S. on Friday. Newark Liberty International Airport is one of several U.S. hubs hit with a staffing alert on Friday. (Photo: Andres Kudacki) Getty Images A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic advisory issued at 9:46 a.m. EDT Friday noted insufficient personnel at three FAA control facilities: Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) Area C, responsible for the sequencing and separation of planes at Newark, as well as control towers at Nashville and Austin-Bergstrom airports. As of 11 a.m. EDT Friday, there were ground delays at Nashville and Austin due to staffing—leading to flight delays of 67 and 50 minutes, respectively–and a ground stop at Washington’s Dulles airport due to wind. The FAA’s latest operations advisory also notes wind in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and cloud cover in California as potential challenges, flagging potential ground stops or ground delays Friday after 11 a.m. EDT at Newark and Dulles airports; after noon at Washington’s Reagan National and New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia; and after 1 p.m. at Boston Logan and San Francisco airports. More than 32,000 flights were delayed between Sunday and Thursday, accounting for roughly 14% of all flights over the five days. On Thursday, following a roundtable with U.S. airline executives, Vice President J.D. Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of an impending “disaster” if the government shutdown continued into November, noting that while some controllers could survive missing one paycheck, “none of them can get through two paychecks.” Which Airports Have Been Hardest Hit By Air Traffic Controller Shortages In The Shutdown? The FAA has seen a marked rise in air traffic controller sick calls as the shutdown has dragged on, but the specific airport experiencing the biggest impact has been different every day. On Thursday evening, it was Orlando International Airport. An agency advisory warned that for a period of time at Orlando, “no arrivals will be able to land as there will be no certified traffic controllers available.” This led to average delays of 2 hours and 41 minutes at the Central Florida hub, but some flights were delayed for as long as 12 hours and several were canceled. On Wednesday afternoon, a staffing shortage at Newark led to a ground stop and more than 225 flight delays in and out of the New Jersey airport. On Tuesday evening, the day when air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck, the FAA reported seven staffing alerts at facilities across the country. Saturday saw staffing triggers at 22 air traffic control facilities, the highest number since the shutdown began, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News was “a sign that the controllers are wearing thin.” $4.2 billion. That’s how much the U.S. economy has lost in visitor spending since the shutdown began, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Further Reading TSA Screeners Face First Missed Paycheck Friday—Expect Longer Airport Lines Starting This Weekend (Forbes) Got a tip? Share confidential information with Forbes. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
