Copyright Newsweek
Airports nationwide continue to be hit by flight delays and cancellations during the federal government shutdown, and a Flight Aware Misery Map pinpoints where passengers are being worst hit. The map shows there were over 21,000 delays across the course of the day on Sunday, and there have already been over 7,000 as of early Monday morning. While the Washington stalemate over federal funding legislation stretches on, 13,000 air traffic controllers are going without pay according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), leading to frustration in departure lounges all over the U.S. The FAA also issued one of the most severe traffic management tools available on Sunday, a ground stop advisory, which suspends any takeoffs. Newsweek has contacted the Transportation Security Administration outside of regular working hours via email for comment. Why It Matters Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that air traffic controllers are becomingly increasingly overworked and financially stressed as they forgo pay checks. Many have been calling in sick, and staffing has reportedly been reduced by 50 percent in some areas. This has sparked particular concern for the month of November when many Americans travel around the Thanksgiving holiday. Last year, travel during this period hit record numbers—1.7 million more people traveled than in 2023, and 79.9 million went to destinations at least 50 miles from their homes, according to the American Automobile Association. What To Know The Flight Aware Misery Map shows the number of delays at certain times throughout the day, based on a four-hour time frame, two hours before and after the specific time. According to the map, at 4 a.m. ET (calculated based on a time frame between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.) there were only 40 delays and no cancellations, but at 9 a.m. ET there were 159, with 15 cancellations. The airports particularly affected at 9 a.m. ET included Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey (21 delays), Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas (19) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina (13). Later in the day, at 2 p.m. ET, the number of delays ramped up to 580 at the start of the peak flight time, with 32 cancellations. Airports particularly affected at that time included Newark Liberty International Airport (57 disruptions), Denver International Airport (DEN) in Colorado (56), and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Illinois (56). By 7 p.m. ET, toward the end of the peak travel period, the number of flights delayed soared to 701 delays and 38 cancellations. Once again, Newark Liberty International Airport was particularly affected by delays, with 82 disruptions, as was O'Hare International Airport (66) and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (55). Vice President JD Vance recently warned on Thursday in a meeting at the White House that in November air travel "could be a disaster, it really could be, because at that point you’re talking about people missing three paychecks, they’ve missed four paychecks." During the travel chaos, the GOP have been saying the Democrats are to blame for the lack of a funding resolution, and Democrats have in turn blamed the GOP for the ongoing shutdown. What People Are Saying Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a post on Sunday: "Flying is safe. When staffing dips, the @FAANews reduces flight volume. But let’s be clear—what the Democrats are doing is adding more risk to an already stressed system." He also wrote in a post on Saturday: "More than half—64.8 percent—of yesterday’s flight delays were due to staffing in air traffic control towers. That’s a RECORD for this shutdown. @SenSchumer and @RepJeffries must end their hostage take over of our government and our skies. Democrats, come to the table. Reopen the government NOW!" Zach Griff, an X user with more than 30,000 followers on the platform, wrote in a post on Sunday: "Holy cow, you do not want to be traveling via JFK/EWR/LGA today. ~4 hour average delays at all NYC airports, and that’s only if your flight isn’t canceled. Just take a long at the endless line of planes waiting hours to takeoff." Aaron Harris, an X user who was reportedly affected by delays, wrote in a post on the platform: "Air Traffic Control has delayed multiple flights out of DFW tonight. Mine is now 3 hours later than expected. Airport is empty." What Happens Next As no meaningful negotiations have yet been made by the two parties in Congress, it is likely that the major travel disruption will continue.
