More U.S. Airports See Delays as Government Shutdown’s Air Traffic Control Shortages Spread

A day after flights at three U.S. airports were impacted by staffing shortages tied to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, more U.S. airports saw delays.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), staffing issues were reported at five more airports on Tuesday, including Nashville (BNA), Boston (BOS), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), and Philadelphia (PHL). The air traffic controller (ATC) shortages also spread, with ATC headquarters in Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas all reporting their own staffing shortages.

The staffing shortages did have an impact on flights. Nashville officials said that the FAA cut departures from its runways on Tuesday afternoon, with 25% of all departures delayed, according to FlightAware. Boston Logan (17% of departures), Dallas Love Field (7% of departures), and Chicago O’Hare (25% of departures) also reported significant delays, all according to FlightAware.

The good news for travelers is that, despite those delays, flights were not canceled, but that could change the longer the government shutdown goes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on Monday, said that the FAA has already seen a small uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick, less than a week into the shutdown.

During the last shutdown, a 35-day lapse in 2019, flight delays were widespread as more and more controllers called out, which is widely cited as a reason that the shutdown ended.

During shutdowns, ATC staffers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers continue to stay on the job because they are essential government employees, but do so without pay (they are almost always guaranteed back pay, a promise that Secretary Duffy reiterated on Tuesday, despite other reports). As shutdowns linger, those now unpaid workers tend to show up less, which Duffy said was starting to happen with some opting for gig work, like driving for Uber, in order to earn some money.

Almost all of the big voices in U.S. travel have called for an end to the shutdown, including ASTA, which is coincidentally in Washington D.C. this week to meet with members of Congress as part of its Legislative Day. The U.S. Travel Association, which also called for the government to reopen, said that the shutdown will cost the U.S. tourism economy about $1 billion every week.