Roughly 2,800 flights were delayed across the U.S. on Monday, Day 27 of the government shutdown, as more essential workers failed to show up to work.
In addition to the flight delays, 109 flights heading into or out of the U.S. were canceled Monday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
The delays come after backups at airports over the weekend. On Sunday, more than 8,700 U.S. flights were delayed, FlightAware data shows, as air traffic controller shortages rise. Such workers are set to miss their first full paychecks on Tuesday.
“They got their notice on Thursday and Friday. They get a notice of what they are going to be paid on Tuesday. And they got a big fat no paycheck is coming on Tuesday,” Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday.
“I’ve been out talking to air traffic controllers, and you can see the stress. These are people that oftentimes like paycheck to paycheck … they are concerned about gas in the car, they are concerned about childcare,” he added.
There were 22 so-called “staffing triggers,” indicating personnel shortages at air traffic control towers and facilities across the U.S. on Sunday, Duffy said.
“That’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin,” said Duffy, who anticipates higher levels of flight delays and cancellations over the coming days as staffing shortages in towers increase.
The nation faced a shortage of air traffic controllers even before the government shutdown began, however the impasse threatens to interrupt efforts to ramp up staffing.
Duffy has discouraged air traffic controllers from taking on second jobs during the shutdown, which some personnel deem necessary to feed their families while they work without paychecks.
Edited by
Anne Marie D. Lee
