Delays Drag On as US Shutdown Chokes Air Travel

Even as the Senate signals the end may be near for America’s record government shutdown, chaos continues in the skies. Travellers across the United States are facing mounting flight delays and cancellations, with major airports crippled by air traffic control shortages and growing political finger-pointing in Washington.

According to FlightAware, more than 1,700 flights were cancelled and over 5,000 delayed nationwide on Thursday. Average delays hit one hour and 16 minutes at New York’s LaGuardia, 44 minutes at Chicago O’Hare, and 46 minutes at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International.

American Airlines said the weekend cancellations alone disrupted travel for 250,000 customers. Airlines for America, the industry’s main trade group, estimates over four million passengers have seen their plans derailed since October 1, when the shutdown began.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), short-staffed as unpaid air traffic controllers continue to call in sick, has ordered carriers to trim flights at 40 major airports. Cuts began at 4 percent last week and are scheduled to deepen to 6 percent by Tuesday, reaching 10 percent by November 14.

President Donald Trump, visibly frustrated, posted a blunt message on social media Monday:

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.’ REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY.” He also vowed to reward those still on duty with $10,000 bonuses, though it remains unclear where that money would come from.

FAA chief Bryan Bedford admitted that 20 to 40 percent of controllers have been skipping shifts at major airports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday marked “the worst single staffing day since the shutdown began.”

As of Sunday, the FAA took the extraordinary step of suspending general aviation operations, effectively grounding private aircraft, at a dozen major airports, including Washington Reagan, Chicago O’Hare, Houston George Bush, Denver, Seattle and Boston.

But some say that’s not enough. “You can easily find the capacity you need by shutting down the top 25 private airports, many of which are within driving distance of the affected commercial airports,” said Erica Payne, president of the Patriotic Millionaires advocacy group.

“They should ground all private jet travel.”

When asked by Al Jazeera for clarity on when commercial operations might return to normal after the shutdown ends, the Department of Transportation offered no specifics, instead sharing social media links blaming Democrats and citing the controller shortage.

Meanwhile, the airline industry is feeling the economic pinch. American Airlines’ shares slipped more than 2 percent on Thursday, United dropped 0.3 percent, and budget carriers JetBlue and Alaska Airlines fell 0.5 and 0.7 percent respectively. Only Southwest Airlines managed to stay in positive territory, edging up 0.4 percent by midafternoon in New York.