Flights halted at major airports in New York and Philadelphia as government shutdown leads to staffing shortages
- Flights were delayed and re-routed on Friday due to staffing shortages as the government shutdown entered its 35th day.
- Ground stops were in place at some of the nation's busiest airports as federal workers, working without pay, began to stay home.
- Cabin crews reportedly told passengers on some flights that they were taking extra fuel in the event of holding patterns.
The government shutdown is starting to have a real impact on flights throughout the country.
Staffing shortages at the Federal Aviation Administration, the US' top air traffic regulator, was causing delays at some of the country's biggest airports on Friday morning, Including Washington D.C.'s Raegan International, Philadelphia, Tampa, Flordia and New York City's La Guardia Airport, as well as Newark.
Federal workers deemed essential, like air traffic controllers and TSA security screeners, have been working without pay for 35 days now as the shutdown enters its second month. Workers were set to miss their second regularly scheduled paycheck on Friday due to the shutdown.
Some flights appear to have been re-routed in order to deal with the traffic management programs in place.
Joaquin Castro, a recent entrant to the Democratic presidential primary race, says the crew on his Southwest flight to San Antonio said they had packed extra fuel in case the shutdown lead to delays.
Many agencies have also been seeing an uptick in employees calling out sick. The TSA had an unprecedented 10% absence rate on Monday over the holiday, reflecting about 3,000 workers, compared to 3% the same weekend a year prior.
Many federal workers have turned to food pantries and government programs to keep food on the table while without income. In one viral gesture, Canadian air traffic controllers sent pizza to their American counterparts as a goodwill gesture.
On Thursday, JetBlue's CEO Robin Hayes warned that the air travel network is nearing a "tipping point" as the government shutdown stretches on without an end in sight.
"Our crew members and customers are likely to face extended security lines, flight delays, and even cancellations," Hayes said. "And the longer this goes on, the longer it will take for the air travel infrastructure to rebound."