Flight delays, ground stops surge amid staffing crisis

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — The U.S. air traffic control system is reaching a breaking point as the ongoing government shutdown deepens severe staffing shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration has been forced to implement ground stops and cause flight delays nationwide to maintain safety.

This weekend alone, more than 10,000 flights were delayed and 400 were canceled, with major airports like Newark, Dallas, and Atlanta among the hardest hit.

Nearly half of all major air traffic control facilities are now understaffed. The FAA has issued a critical safety alert, intentionally slowing and canceling flights to protect travelers.

Controllers working without pay

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns the situation will worsen if the shutdown drags on, urging Americans to expect more flight delays and cancellations.

Duffy says the FAA is already short 2,000 to 3,000 air traffic controllers, and a surge of employees are calling out of work, affecting traffic.

“We don’t want crashes — we want people to go safely,” Duffy said. “We will slow or stop traffic if we don't think we can manage it in a way that keeps people safe as they go from Point A to Point B."

The union representing air traffic controllers said each day the shutdown continues, the national airspace becomes less safe than the day before.

Air traffic controllers received a partial paycheck earlier in October but were paid nothing this past week.

Duffy says he does not plan to fire those who miss shifts, but is encouraging them to keep showing up, as they'll eventually they'll be compensated once the shutdown ends.

Near misses add to concern

The staffing crisis comes amid a string of frightening near misses at airports across the country.

On Sunday, airports in New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas issued temporary ground stops due to staffing shortages in their control towers and delays and cancellations piling up.

Last week, the FAA investigated several close calls.

At Boston’s Logan Airport, a Delta plane aborted landing to avoid a Cape Air plane taking off Thursday. The delta pilot was instructed to execute a go-around procedure, and you can hear him say that he was close on the air traffic control audio.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also sending a team to investigate a close call between a Southwest Airlines jet and a medical helicopter near the Cleveland International Airport. The Southwest plane aborted the landing to avoid hitting the helicopter and landed safely a short time later.

At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, a United plane clipped another aircraft’s tail while 80% of local controllers were absent.

Both planes returned to their gates, and no injuries were reported.

That incident happened while the FAA says nearly 80% of air traffic controllers were absent in the New York area facilities, like LaGuardia.