Overview
- The FAA reported average delays of about 91 minutes at Reagan National and 21 minutes at Dallas–Fort Worth on Thursday, issuing an earlier ground stop at Reagan and warning of further slowdowns at Orlando due to staffing.
- Newark faced a 75-minute ground stop on Wednesday for staffing, while the New York region saw additional ground stops Thursday as bad weather compounded short staffing at key facilities.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said controller staffing issues caused 44% of flight delays on Sunday and about 24–25% on Monday, up from roughly 5% in a typical period.
- The agency entered the shutdown short roughly 3,000–3,500 controllers, and union leaders say unpaid workers are taking second jobs and calling out more often, tightening safety margins and driving delays.
- Officials and the controllers’ union warn recruitment and training are being disrupted, with academy dropouts reported and concerns that delays will intensify if the funding lapse continues.