Overview
- FAA operations showed 98 facilities hit staffing triggers over the weekend, prompting ground stops, arrival caps and reroutes to keep traffic safe.
- Newark’s arrival rate was cut to as few as 20 flights per hour with delays of two to three hours, and LAX faced an expanded ground delay program.
- Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay, with airports such as Houston reporting security waits of up to three hours.
- DOT data indicate staffing accounted for 84% of delay minutes on Sunday, while FlightAware tracked roughly 5,000–6,000 delays on peak days and hundreds of cancellations.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned delays will worsen and said he would shut the airspace if safety is at risk, as airlines, NATCA and travel groups urge Congress to pass a clean funding bill.