Air Travelers Face Delays, Risks, as Government Shutdown Hits Staffing of Airport Control Towers

The federal shutdown is grounding more than just legislation.A dozen Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control facilities were operating with skeleton crews or worse, including California’s Burbank Airport, where the air traffic control tower was unmanned for hours on Monday evening.There was not a single air traffic controller stationed in the tower for nearly six hours. Operations were handled remotely by Southern California TRACON, an approach and departure team based in San Diego that already handles a lot of air traffic in the region, according to a report from ABC7 Los Angeles.“You’d like to have somebody local that can see what’s going on, visually, right?” said a traveler, Kimberly Riddle, who spoke to the news outlet.“It’s a little scary, right? I’m about to run it myself,” Salice Rose, who was at Burbank airport dealing with multiple delays on her flight, said to ABC 7.California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, took to X to place the blame squarely on President Trump.“Thanks, @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15pm to 10pm today because of YOUR government shutdown,” he wrote.Control towers at Phoenix and Denver were also hit with “staffing triggers” — red flags contained in the FAA’s public operations plan that signal dangerously low personnel levels. Air traffic facilities managing Newark, Jacksonville, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis also reported critical shortages.Classified as essential workers, air traffic controllers are required to report for duty during the shutdown — but do not receive a paycheck for their shifts though they may be reimbursed later. Many are calling in sick rather than work for free, leaving critical gaps in a system that was already troubled by chronic staff shortages before the shutdown.“We are tracking sick calls, sick leave. Have we had a slight tick up in sick calls? Yes. And then you’ll see delays that come from that, right? Because again, our priority, again, I want to see your flight not be delayed. I don’t want you canceled, but our priorities are safety,” the secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, said Monday.“So, if we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people.”

Air Travelers Face Delays, Risks, as Government Shutdown Hits Staffing of Airport Control Towers

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