Overview
- Sean Duffy said the DOT may close portions of U.S. airspace next week if staffing degrades further, warning of “mass chaos” with widespread delays and cancellations.
- The FAA reports about half of the Core 30 facilities are short-staffed and that nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have worked without pay for weeks.
- Operational safeguards are already in effect, with the FAA slowing traffic and imposing ground stops that produced thousands of delays, including more than 5,000 on November 2.
- FlightAware data show heavy local impacts, such as 273 delays at Newark on November 3, as shortages shift daily across major hubs.
- The shutdown reached day 35 with Congress deadlocked over health care funding, and industry groups and unions urging a funding resolution to stabilize the aviation system.