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2h ago

FAA Curbs Flights As Unpaid Controller Shortage Triggers Nationwide Delays

Officials are reducing flight volumes to preserve safety during the unpaid-controller staffing shortage.

Travellers sleep on chairs as flights are cancelled at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida on October 30, 2025. Flights at Orlando International Airport faced major delays on October 30, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the airport had no certified air-traffic controllers in its tower, forcing arrivals to be halted or severely delayed amid the ongoing US government shutdown. Air traffic controllers -- seen as "essential" public servants -- are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers are calling in sick rather than toiling without pay, leading to shortages. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)
In an aerial photo, San Diego International Airport’s new Terminal 1 is seen with San Diego Bay and downtown in the background on Oct. 7, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Overview

  • Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay, with the FAA reporting shortages at about half of its busiest facilities and absentee rates near 80% in the New York area.
  • The FAA is imposing ground delay programs and occasional ground stops, with Newark limited to as few as 20 arrivals per hour and delays of two to four hours that spill over to JFK and LaGuardia.
  • Disruptions stretched across major hubs including Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco, Denver and Miami, with thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations reported by FlightAware.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the government will delay or cancel flights to maintain safety, warned conditions could worsen, and said he will not fire controllers who miss work during the shutdown.
  • The controllers’ union and major airlines are urging Congress to pass a clean continuing resolution to restore pay, noting the shutdown is compounding an existing shortfall of roughly 3,000 controllers.