Facing a shortage of air traffic controllers, data shows flight delays are on the rise as the government shutdown drags on. It’s a trend that is expected to continue as federal officials plan to cut travel by 10% at 40 airports starting Friday.
Nearly a quarter of flights arrived late into 16 of America’s busiest airports in the week after air traffic controllers missed their first paycheck on Oct. 28, according to a CBS News analysis of data from aviation company Cirium. That’s compared with 18% of flights arriving late in September.
Fifteen of those airports are included on the list obtained by CBS News of airports that will be affected by the 10% cut in air traffic. Some major airports, including those in Las Vegas and Charlotte, were not included in the data.
Delays were more significant in some areas than others. Staffing shortages and weather conditions compounded delays in New York City last week. From Oct. 28 to Monday, fewer than 65% of flights arrived on time into the area’s three airports. More than 81% of flights landed on time at the airports in September.
Seattle and Denver’s airports, on the other hand, have had more flights arrive and depart on time over the same timeframe than in September.
In the first few weeks of the shutdown, the percentage of flights arriving or departing on time had not dropped significantly at most of these airports, the data shows. But many airports experienced their worst days last week. About 43% of cancellations from the shutdown’s start on Oct. 1 to Monday happened in the last week of that timeframe.
More air traffic controllers have not been coming to work during the shutdown, with some opting to take on second jobs to make up for lost pay. On CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said controllers are “confronted with a decision: do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?”
The FAA has issued at least 125 ground delays or stops due to staffing issues since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, compared with 26 in September, according to a CBS News analysis of Air Traffic Control System Command Center Advisories. That doesn’t include staffing delays at control towers not based at airports, which also manage air traffic.
Before the decision to cut air travel by 10%, Duffy had warned delays and cancellations would get worse if the shutdown continued, and cautioned the FAA would consider closing some airspace.
“You will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations,” he said. “And you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it, because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”
Travelers can view the FAA’s advisories to see airports are affected by delays or closures.
