Flight Delays in the US Expected to Worsen, Transportation Chief Warns
American flight controllers are increasingly looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.
"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.
After the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.
But some have been absent, leading airports to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and other issues.
Over three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he expects the circumstances to deteriorate further.
"I observe the pressure," he said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.
"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.
The secretary further mentioned that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak after the shutdown started.
The US government shutdown reached its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second most extended halt in the past.
He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.
In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.
"I need my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," the official stated.
On that day, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland.
The Federal Aviation Administration notice was issued at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.
Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority said DFW, the second most active airfield in the country, could experience problems from low staffing later in the day.
The FAA warned travelers in the state to consult carriers about revised departure times.
The issue comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the United States.
Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.
It prompted several flight controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.
On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after 35 days.
