Air traffic controller shortages amid shutdown lead to canceled flights, delays nationwide
A week into the government shutdown, flight delays and cancellations are mounting as a wave of sick calls from air traffic controllers leaves major U.S. airports struggling to maintain safe staffing levels. On Tuesday, the control tower at Nashville International Airport was operating with severely limited personnel, forcing the Memphis Air Traffic Control Center to handle part of its approach traffic. As a result, flights in and out of Nashville were delayed by an average of more than two hours by Tuesday evening.
Other major hubs, including Dallas and Chicago, also experienced disruptions. According to FAA advisories, delays averaged around 30 minutes in Dallas and 40 minutes in Chicago. Although air traffic controllers are classified as essential workers and remain on the job during shutdowns, roughly 13,000 of them are currently working without pay, according to the Department of Transportation.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), said that staffing shortages have been a chronic issue but are now being magnified by the shutdown. “We’re hyper-focused on it,” Daniels told ABC News. “The shutdown absolutely doesn’t help it, but this is something that we deal with day in and day out.” FAA data reviewed by ABC News show that over the past nine months, more than 1,000 temporary shutdowns or partial closures of control facilities have occurred across the country.
The effects are already being felt nationwide. On Monday, the control tower at Burbank Airport in California was forced to close for several hours due to a lack of controllers, delaying flights by more than two and a half hours. Controllers in San Diego had to manage Burbank’s airspace remotely during the closure. Several other FAA facilities, including in Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Phoenix, also faced staffing shortages that led to hundreds of delays. The FAA said it is slowing air traffic into affected airports “to ensure safe operations.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that some control centers are operating with staffing levels down as much as 50 percent. “If someone has to take sick leave to drive Uber to make the difference, those are decisions they’re going to make themselves,” Duffy said. “But of course, that’s concerning for us. These are high-skilled, safety-driven professionals who shouldn’t have to find second jobs just to pay their bills.”
Duffy met with controllers at Newark Airport earlier this week, who told him the financial strain of working without pay is making an already stressful job even harder. Many controllers, he said, are worried about how they’ll afford basic expenses if the shutdown drags on. Controllers will receive a partial paycheck on October 14, but if the shutdown continues, they won’t be paid again on October 28. Under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, they will eventually receive back pay once the government reopens.
The staffing crisis has also fueled a political feud. California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed former President Donald Trump for the shutdown, posting on X that Trump’s “government shutdown” left Burbank Airport “with ZERO air traffic controllers.” Duffy fired back, accusing Democrats of holding up funding “because they want Americans to pay for health care for illegals,” saying Newsom should “look in the mirror” for blame.
The shutdown is also threatening the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which provides subsidies to keep air routes open in rural areas. The Department of Transportation announced that funding for the program will run out on October 12. Airlines that continue service after that date will do so “at their own risk” and may only receive partial reimbursement. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski warned that the funding lapse could be devastating for her state, where air travel is a lifeline for remote communities. “The critical assistance these routes provide makes a disruption on any scale detrimental,” she said, adding that she is working with the administration to prevent interruptions.
As the shutdown drags on, the strain on the nation’s air traffic control system continues to grow—raising concerns not only about travel delays but about the financial and emotional toll on the professionals keeping America’s skies safe.