Copyright Cable News Network
Monday was the worst day for air traffic control staffing that wasn’t a Friday, Saturday or Sunday since the start of the government shutdown, according to a CNN analysis of Federal Aviation Administration operations plans. Due to the federal holiday today, the air traffic controller pay date was moved to yesterday. Controllers would have been paid then if the government was open. Due to the federal holiday today, the air traffic controller pay date was moved forward to Monday Nov. 10. Controllers would have been paid yesterday, if the government was open. There were 40 reports of “staffing triggers” yesterday at FAA facilities, from Orlando to Anchorage. A “staffing trigger” is when air traffic controllers alter operations to keep the airspace safe with fewer people working. These steps can include rerouting planes or delaying flights when there are not enough controllers to handle the normal workload. The worst overall days for staffing since the start of the shutdown were Saturday with 63 problems, Sunday with 51 and Halloween, which was a Friday, with 46. There have been 636 reports of short staffing since October 1, more than six times as many as were reported on the same dates last year. For context: Control towers at Chicago’s O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, and San Diego reported staffing problems Monday. Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities (TRACONs) in Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, New York, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix and Southern California were also short-staffed. Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which control flights en route at high altitude, were without their normal complement of controllers Monday in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Oakland, Washington, DC, and Jacksonville. Dozens of flights at Miami International Airport were canceled under FAA-mandated flight reductions, leaving travelers stranded and anxious like thousands nationwide. Passengers Judith and Thomas Miadock, who arrived in Miami on Monday after a three-week cruise, found out their flight home to Cleveland had been canceled three times. “So now, they have us booked for tomorrow, which means we have to stay here today. Rent a room again for the third night,” Thomas Miadock told CNN affiliate WFOR. Many travelers blamed the government shutdown for staffing shortages that led to the cancellations. Verette Johnson, whose flight was canceled on Monday, told WFOR she was irritated by the delay. “But my complaint is little compared to everybody else’s,” she added.
