Overview
- FAA advisories said Orlando would have no certified controllers for a period Thursday night, prompting a ground delay program and halting or sharply curbing arrivals.
- Delays at Orlando averaged roughly 2.5 to 2.7 hours with some stretching to nearly 12 hours, before operations improved Friday with lingering cancellations.
- On Friday, the FAA flagged insufficient personnel at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, Nashville, and Austin towers, with potential ground stops or delays also forecast for Newark, DCA, JFK, LGA, Boston, SFO and others, alongside East Coast winds.
- Flight trackers reported nearly 6,000 delays and about 1,100 cancellations nationwide Thursday, and more than 32,000 U.S. delays from Sunday through Thursday.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said more disruptions are likely over the next week, as over 13,000 unpaid controllers and tens of thousands of TSA officers report rising strain, compounding a preexisting controller shortfall and spurring airline pleas to end the shutdown.