Travel disruptions continued south of the border as airlines worked to recover from a powerful storm system that had already snarled flight schedules earlier in the week while the partial government shutdown continued to fuel long lines at security checkpoints.
From a surprising heatwave in California to blizzards burying parts of the Midwest and storms rolling into the East Coast, chaotic weather on Monday put more than half the nation’s population in the path of extreme conditions.
Airport delays and cancellations piled up in some of the nation’s largest airports, with more than 4,700 cancelled across the U.S., and delayed about 7,300 more, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The disruptions follow a chaotic Monday for air travel, triggered by powerful storms that dumped snow by the foot in the Midwest and swept through the eastern half of the country, leading to thousands of cancellations at major hubs, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta.
Torrential rains flooded homes and washed out roads in Hawaii while dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history.
Gusts approached 80 kph in parts of New York, the National Weather Service said.
Air travel was already under pressure before the storms. A partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 has thinned staffing at some security checkpoints, at times leading to longer lines. And airports are crowded with spring break travelers and fans heading to March Madness, the annual NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
On Monday alone, more than 4,800 U.S. flights were canceled. Delays topped 12,800. They included about 600 canceled flights at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, more than 500 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson and roughly 450 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration also issued ground stops and delays at several major airports as conditions worsened.
The storms also unfolded just as airport security screeners missed their first full paycheck over the weekend. The ongoing shutdown affects only the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration.
Democrats in Congress have said Homeland Security won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.
It is the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay. Once the government reopens, employees will have to wait for back pay.
Long lines at security checkpoints
Some airports have reported longer security lines due to staffing shortages as more TSA workers take on second jobs, can’t afford gas to get to work or leave the profession altogether.
Homeland Security has said more than 300 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began.
A shutdown-induced staffing shortage prompted TSA to temporarily close multiple security checkpoints at Philadelphia’s airport starting Wednesday. Staff will guide travellers to alternate checkpoints, the airport said in a post on the social platform X. It recommended that passengers arrive 2.5 hours early for domestic flights and 3.5 hours early for international flights.
Smaller airports may need to close if the rate of TSA employees not reporting to work continues to rise, Adam Stahl, the agency’s acting deputy administrator, said on the TV program “Fox & Friends.”
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