Why US shutdown is grounding and delaying American flights, again

The US is witnessing yet another shutdown. And yet again, flights in America are being delayed and grounded. A shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCs) in airports across America a week into the shutdown has left thousands of flights delayed and many others cancelled.

The Transport Department earlier this week said it noted an uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick. These controllers, under the law, have been classified as ‘essential workers’ who continue to work without a paycheque through the shutdown. The showdown between Democrats and Republicans, who control all branches of US government, over the budget began on 1 October. With no solution in sight, the Trump Administration has threatened mass firings if the Democrats do not give way.

But what happened? What do we know?

Let’s take a closer look.

What happened?

According to FlightAware, a website that tracks planes, over 3,500 flights were delayed across America on Tuesday night. Over 570 flights were late from the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago alone, with another 200 flights delayed from Nashville International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had warned about a shortage of ATCs in Chicago. Airports at Houston, Dallas and Newark have also been affected. It has responded by cutting down the number of flights every hour to Chicago O’Hare, which is one of the busiest airports in the country and which sees around 1,000 flights every day. It says there is an average delay of 41 minutes.

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The FAA also said there was a shortage of controllers working approach and departure facilities for Houston, Newark and Las Vegas on Tuesday evening, as well as Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas. In Nashville, the approach facility had to be shuttered for five hours. Flights on average were delayed by two hours at the airport.

The Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston are likely to witness ground delays moving forward. The FAA said flights were being delayed by an average of 30 minutes at Newark Airport. It warned Washington Reagan might also witness delays. The FAA said Nashville is facing major staffing issues and will curb operations.

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The duties will be taken over by Memphis Centre. Meanwhile, air traffic control at California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport had to be remotely managed for several hours on Monday.

More ATCs calling in sick every day

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said more and more ATCs are taking sick leave every day. He said this puts additional pressure on other workers. Duffy said staffing in some places has been cut to nearly half its levels.

“This is their living. They’re concerned now if they don’t get their paycheques, how do I pay my mortgage? How do I pay my car payment? What do I do to put food on the table?” Duffy told Fox News.

While air traffic controllers are not allowed to go on strike under federal law, they are so few in number that even some of them calling in sick is enough to cause issues across the country. For the US, this isn’t a new problem. The country has faced a shortage of ATCs for years. There are around 3,500 fewer ATCs than called for by recommended staffing levels.

When there aren’t enough controllers, the FAA must reduce the number of take-offs and landings to maintain safety – which in turn causes flight delays and possible cancellations. “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 added.

Their representatives have pointed out how important these workers are and how delicate the air traffic system is.

“We are critically staffed with unreliable equipment, and we deal with these issues, and it’s a part of the resiliency and the redundancy that we advocate for, of needing that in the system,” said Nick Daniels, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president, told CNN. “We can work with the FAA to address the issues when they come up, make a plan, and ultimately ensure the safety of the flying public. These types of scenarios aren’t a new creation; they are a reality that air traffic controllers face day in and day out.”

The trade group, which has encouraged its workers not to call in sick, represents around 20,000 ATCs, engineers and other aviation professionals.

“Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” the union wrote on its website. “It is not only illegal, but it also undermines NATCA’s credibility and severely weakens our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families.”

‘Worried about getting paid’

NATCA official Drew MacQueen told NewsNation that the ATCs are worried.

“Air traffic controllers didn’t start the shutdown and certainly air traffic controllers aren’t going to end the shutdown. That’s up to the politicians,” MacQueen said. “What they don’t need is the fatigue of dealing with that job while being short-staffed, working six days a week, 10 hours a day,” he continued. “Now they’re worried about when they’ll get paid.”

Union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners say things are likely to get worse. Despite issues around, about 92 per cent of the over 23,600 flights leaving from US airports as of Tuesday afternoon took off on time, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

But the risk of wider impacts to the US aviation system “is growing by the day” as federal workers whose jobs are deemed critical continue working without pay, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said. The longer the shutdown drags on, the more likely it is to affect holiday travel plans in November, he said.

“I’m gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down then, that it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans’ Thanksgiving holidays,” Harteveldt said in a statement.

Interestingly, the ATCs played a part in bringing an end to the previous shutdown in 2019, which occurred during Trump’s first term. According to reports, the slowing down of air traffic in New York’s LaGuardia Airport and at other major hubs in New Jersey and Florida sped up the process of bringing the shutdown to a close.

With inputs from agencies