The flight cancellations at airports across the U.S. are expected to worsen this week and continue to persist even after the government shutdown ends. The U.S. Senate took a first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday, but final passage could still be several days away. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made clear last week that flight cuts will remain in place until the FAA sees safety metrics improve.
The Federal Aviation Administration has reduced flights as some air traffic controllers – unpaid for weeks – have stopped showing up for work.
On Monday, Donald Trump pressured controllers on Monday to “get back to work, NOW!!!” – at the same time posting on social media that he wants to give a $10,000 bonus to controllers who’ve stayed on the job every day and dock the pay of those who didn’t.
This after airlines cancelled thousands of flights on the weekend to comply with the order to eliminate 4% of flights. The cancellations are scheduled to rise to 6% of all flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports on Tuesday. By the end of the week, flight cancellations are scheduled to reach 10% of all flights at those airports.
As of Monday morning, airlines had already cancelled 1,700 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday. International flights have not been affected.
Controller shortages led to average delays of four hours at Chicago O’Hare and 45 minutes in Las Vegas on Monday, with the FAA warning of staffing issues at more than a dozen towers and control centres that could cause additional disruptions in cities including Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta.
Beyond the mandated cuts, flight delays have been rippling through airports nationwide at times ever since the shutdown began. That’s because the FAA slows air traffic anytime it’s short on controllers at one of its facilities to ensure flights remain safe.
Tuesday will be the second missed payday for air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. It’s unclear how quickly they might be paid once the shutdown ends. The head of the controllers union, Nick Daniels, plans a news conference Monday morning to address the shutdown’s toll.
“More controllers aren’t coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck,” Duffy said.
The government has struggled for years with a shortage of air traffic controllers, and Duffy said the shutdown has worsened the problem, prompting some controllers to retire early or quit. Before the shutdown, Duffy had been working to address the shortage by hiring more controllers, speeding up training and offering bonuses to retain experienced controllers.
Duffy warned over the weekend that if the shutdown drags on, the situation could deteriorate further as the U.S. heads into the busy holiday travel season. He said air travel may “be reduced to a trickle” by the week of Thanksgiving (Nov. 27).
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