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14m ago

Burbank Tower Unstaffed for Hours as Shutdown Drives FAA to Slow Flights

The FAA says a small uptick in controller sick leave could prompt formal flow reductions to keep the system safe.

An American Eagle plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport on Monday in Burbank, Calif. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated the airport had no air traffic controllers in its tower amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.
A dark and unstaffed air traffic control tower is seen at the Hollywood Burbank Airport amid the US government shutdown
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Overview

  • Hollywood Burbank Airport’s control tower had no controllers from about 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, with uthern CaCalifornia TRACON handling approaches remotely and departures delayed roughly 151 minutes on average.
  • By Tuesday morning, Burbank said controllers were scheduled to return and operations to resume normally, though the FAA continued to flag staffing-related delays at Newark and Denver and reported impacts in other cities.
  • FlightAware tracked more than 6,000 U.S. delays Monday, up from roughly 3,000 Saturday, as air traffic controllers worked unpaid during the second week of the federal shutdown.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported a slight rise in sick calls and said the agency will slow traffic to maintain safety as needed, while noting no systemwide staffing trigger had been issued as of early Tuesday.
  • The controllers’ union urged members to keep working and warned of a fragile system, and officials cautioned that a prolonged shutdown could force broader flight cuts and threaten Essential Air Service funding for small communities.