The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pressed lawmakers to reopen the government late Friday as major airports across the U.S. experience flight delays and cancellations due staffing shortages amid the lapse in funding.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers are among the federal workers that are deemed essential and have been working without pay since the government shutdown began.
Under the strain, airports in recent weeks have reported an increasing amount of call-outs.
“As we head into this weekend, a surge in callouts is straining staffing levels at multiple facilities, leading to widespread impacts across the [National Airspace System],” the agency wrote on social platform X. “Currently, half of our Core 30 facilities are experiencing staffing shortages, and nearly 80 percent of air traffic controllers are absent at New York–area facilities.
“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue,” the post continues. “The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”
The FAA reiterated that safety is the number one priority and due to the staffing shortage, the flow of air traffic may continue to be reduced, resulting in delays and cancellations.
As of Saturday morning, more than 11,000 flights have been delayed and around 400 flights cancelled, according to FlightAware.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has made increasing recruitment and retention of controllers a major priority, acknowledged earlier this month that workers are “wearing thin” as the shutdown neared its one-month mark.
“The controllers are wearing thin,” he told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo last Sunday. “And again, they’re taking second jobs, they’re out there looking, ‘Can I drive Uber, can I find another source of income to make ends meet?’”
He added later, “My message has been to the controllers, ‘Show up, that’s your job. Eventually, you’re [going to] be paid.’ But there’s real-life situations that they’re dealing with, with their families.”
Duffy also warned early in the shutdown that flight delays and cancellations were likely.
Four of the nation’s largest airlines — United, American, Southwest and Delta — also urged lawmakers to move on legislation to reopen the government.
The Senate has failed 13 times to push the GOP-led continuing resolution passed the finish line, even as some senators have been stranded in Washington due to the delays.
