Overview
- The FAA reports nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay and a surge in callouts has left half of the 30 busiest airports short-staffed, with the New York area seeing absences as high as 80%.
- To preserve safety, the agency has been imposing flow controls and localized ground stops, contributing to thousands of delays and some cancellations in recent days.
- FlightAware data cited more than 7,300 delays and over 1,250 cancellations at U.S. airports on Thursday as staffing pressures intensified.
- Union leaders say controllers are on mandatory six-day weeks that can exceed 60 hours, with some taking side jobs and others staging sick-outs as missed paychecks mount.
- United’s Scott Kirby and American’s Robert Isom joined industry officials in urging Congress to pass a clean funding bill, while Cirium data show operations remain largely normal so far even as performance slipped late last week and the shutdown nears a record length.