Flight delays, anger as US govt shutdown continues
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration delayed flights for a third day at airports including Reagan Washington National and Newark Liberty International Airport as it continues to experience above-normal staffing shortages.
There were nearly 3,000 flight delays on Wednesday, after a total of 10,000 on Monday and Tuesday; Thousands were tied to the FAA and slowed flights due to the lack of air traffic controllers at facilities across the country as the government shutdown reached its eighth day.
The FAA said some flights at Reagan had to remain airborne due to the slowdown in air traffic.
Air traffic control staffing problems during that shutdown emerged during President Donald Trump’s first term, before the last major cut to government funding in 2019, leading to unexpected shortages in cities across the country.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and congressional Democrats called for an end to the closure at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Wednesday, noting that air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officials are working without pay. Moore, a Democrat, said Trump “cannot reach a deal” that would keep the government open.
Democratic Rep. Kwiesi Mfume called for additional legislation that would continue paying air traffic controllers during the shutdown.
“People are starting to worry about flying, and as a nation we should never get to that point,” he said.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers increased as workers missed paychecks, and checkpoint wait times were extended at some airports. Authorities had to slow down air traffic in New York, putting pressure on lawmakers to end this standoff as soon as possible.
About 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers are still required to report to work during the government shutdown, but they are not being paid. Controllers will receive partial pay on Oct. 14 for work they performed before the shutdown.
The U.S. has faced air traffic control shortages for more than a decade, with many controllers working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. The FAA is short on targeted staffing of approximately 3,500 air traffic controllers.
As the shutdown entered its second week, there was no discernible endgame in sight.
“Congress, do your damn job,” Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said along with other top union leaders near the Capitol.
No negotiations are taking place, at least not publicly. However, quiet negotiations are taking place behind the scenes.
Lawmakers from Republicans and Democrats are meeting privately and seeking ways out of the impasse that hinges on striking a deal to preserve health care subsidies.
with AP
