Flying During the Government Shutdown: Expect Significant Delays

Anticipating a flight in the near future? Due to the ongoing government shutdown, the probability of encountering a delay has increased tenfold as a result of staffing shortages.

Historically, only about 5% of flight delays are owed to insufficient staffing, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. However, in the past week, this number has alarmingly surged to 53%.

In the United States, there are around 13,000 air traffic controllers who are mandated to continue working during the shutdown. Nevertheless, they face the prospect of not receiving a paycheck come the next Tuesday.

At a recent press briefing, Duffy noted a minor increase in the number of controllers calling in sick. He acknowledged those continuing their duties but expressed concern about the strain and dissatisfaction among controllers, who are burdened by the threat of losing their income.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association reports that close to 11,000 controllers remain on the job, with some enduring shifts lasting up to 10 hours across six days a week.

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration commenced delays at several U.S. airports due to the limited workforce.

For instance, Reagan National Airport near Washington D.C. recorded average delay times of 31 minutes, peaking at 1 hour and 19 minutes, as per FAA notifications.

Flights nearing arrival in Newark faced expected delays of about 30 minutes, again due to staffing concerns.

The disruption extended to additional airports on Tuesday, with Nashville flights experiencing delays that averaged over two hours.

On Monday, Hollywood Burbank Airport notably had its air traffic control tower unstaffed for a period of six hours. During this time, pilots had to rely on direct communication with each other to manage movements on the runway, leading to potential passenger wait times reaching four hours.