WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Reuters) – Air traffic control staffing shortages have delayed flights for a second consecutive day across numerous U.S. airports, as the government shutdown enters its seventh day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Tuesday.

According to flight tracking data, over 3,000 flights have been delayed nationwide as staffing issues continue to affect major airports including Houston, Nashville, Dallas, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark.

The FAA said it is reducing the number of arriving flights per hour at Chicago O’Hare due to staffing constraints, with average delays of 41 minutes. Similar issues have also been reported at Atlanta’s Air Route Traffic Control Center.

At Newark, incoming flights were being held for up to 30 minutes, while Washington Reagan Airport may also face additional slowdowns on Tuesday because of low staffing levels, the agency added.

Nashville faces particularly severe shortages, forcing authorities to curtail operations later on Tuesday. Control of the airport’s approach operations will be temporarily transferred to Memphis Center, according to the FAA.

Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the aviation disruption. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Democrats were responsible for the slowdown, while California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, blamed President Donald Trump for the crisis.

Severe weather conditions across the country are also contributing to flight delays.

Despite the shutdown, around 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are required to report for duty — but without pay. Controllers are expected to receive a partial paycheck on October 14 for work performed prior to the shutdown.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that the FAA had seen a rise in sick leave among controllers and that staffing has been cut by up to 50% in some regions since the shutdown began.

“If we don’t have controllers, we’re going to make sure the airspace is safe. So what we do is we’ll slow traffic,” Duffy said Tuesday on Fox & Friends.

According to FlightAware, more than 3,000 flights were delayed on Tuesday, including 225 at Nashville (20% of total flights) and over 570 at Chicago O’Hare (more than 20% of total flights).
Southwest Airlines reported more than 500 delayed flights, while American Airlines delayed over 400.

During the 35-day government shutdown in 2019, controller absences and missed paychecks led to longer security wait times and forced authorities to slow traffic in New York, which increased pressure on lawmakers to resolve the impasse.

The U.S. has been grappling with air traffic controller shortages for over a decade, with many controllers already working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the current shutdown. The FAA is currently 3,500 controllers short of its target staffing levels.

Source: Reuters — Agencies