Flights delayed across US amid air traffic controller shortages as shutdown drags on | US federal government shutdown 2025
Nearly 50 percent of the 30 busiest airports in the United States face a shortage of air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday, leading to flight delays across the country as the federal government shutdown reaches its 31st day.
The agency said the absence of controllers on Friday was the most widespread since the start of the shutdown, and one of the worst-hit areas was New York, where 80% of air traffic controllers were out.
At least 35 FAA facilities reported staffing problems, including several at the largest U.S. airports. Affected airports include facilities in New York, Austin, Newark, Phoenix, Washington, Nashville, Dallas and Denver. Some airports experienced average delays of an hour or more.
The shutdown forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work without pay.
“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under great stress and fatigue,” the FAA said in a statement late Friday.
“The closure must end so that these controllers can receive the wages they deserve and passengers can avoid further disruptions and delays,” the statement said.
On a typical Friday, the impact on the system would be much worse. But airline officials said Halloween evening traffic was 20% lower than normal, which helped alleviate the effects of staffing shortages.
More than 5,600 flights were delayed and 500 canceled on Friday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
At New York’s LaGuardia airport, 50% of flights were delayed and 12% canceled; There was an average delay of 140 minutes; At Washington DC’s Reagan National airport, a quarter of flights were delayed.
Airlines are preparing for more flight disruptions.
US transport secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom: “Coming into this weekend and the week after that, I think you’re going to see even more disruption in airspace.”
On Thursday, air traffic control staff shortages disrupted flights in Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., with FlightAware data showing 7,300 flights delayed and 1,250 canceled across the US.
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have called on Congress to quickly pass an interim funding bill, known as a “continuing resolution,” to allow the government to reopen amid talks over disagreements over health policy.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, also called on airlines on Friday to move forward with the resolution.
The government shutdown began Oct. 1 and continues as the federal funding bill stalls in Congress.
Republican lawmakers wanted to pass a “clean” funding measure with no strings attached, while Democrats demanded negotiations on extending health benefits that expire at the end of the year.
Airlines have repeatedly called for an end to the closure, citing aviation safety risks.
The shutdown has exacerbated existing staffing shortages and threatened to cause widespread outages similar to those that helped end a 35-day government shutdown in 2019.
At the FAA, about 3,500 air traffic controllers are short of target staffing numbers, and many were working six-day weeks as well as mandatory overtime even before the shutdown.
