Air Traffic Controller Shortages Disrupt Flights at Nearly Half of Major U.S. Airports Amid Ongoing Shutdown

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday that nearly half of the 30 busiest U.S. airports are facing air traffic controller shortages, leading to widespread flight delays nationwide as the federal government shutdown entered its 31st day.

The latest wave of absences marks the largest since the shutdown began, with New York among the hardest-hit regions—where roughly 80% of controllers failed to report for duty, according to the agency.

At least 35 FAA facilities, including several at the nation’s largest airports, reported staffing problems. Affected locations included New York, Austin, Newark, Phoenix, Washington, Nashville, Dallas, and Denver. In some cases, delays stretched to an hour or more.

The shutdown has forced around 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work without pay.

“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under extreme stress and fatigue,” the FAA said late Friday. “The shutdown must end so these employees can receive their earned pay and passengers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”

Officials said the situation could have been worse if not for lighter-than-usual Halloween evening traffic, which airlines estimated was about 20% below normal levels.

According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, more than 5,600 flights were delayed and about 500 were canceled on Friday.

At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, half of all flights were delayed and 12% canceled, with average delays of 140 minutes. In Washington, D.C., a quarter of flights were delayed at Reagan National Airport.

Airlines are bracing for more disruptions.
“This weekend and into next week, I think you’ll see further complications across U.S. airspace,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom.

Calls for a ‘Continuing Resolution’
On Thursday, staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities in Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Washington, D.C., disrupted flights nationwide, with FlightAware data showing 7,300 delays and 1,250 cancellations across the U.S.

Major carriers including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines have urged Congress to quickly pass a “continuing resolution”—a stopgap funding measure—to reopen the government as partisan disagreements over healthcare policy continue.

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, joined the airlines in calling for an immediate resolution.

The shutdown, which began October 1, has dragged on as Congress remains gridlocked over a federal funding bill. Republicans are pushing for a “clean” measure without conditions, while Democrats are demanding negotiations over healthcare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.

Airlines have repeatedly warned that the shutdown poses risks to aviation safety and has worsened an existing staffing crisis. The FAA is already short roughly 3,500 controllers compared with targeted levels, and many have been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown began—raising fears of disruptions reminiscent of the 35-day shutdown in 2019.