Air travel turmoil deepened with more than 4,300 flights delayed nationwide yesterday following more than 8,800 delays on Sunday, with air traffic controller absences surging as the federal government shutdown reached its 27th day.
The Federal Aviation Administration cited staffing shortages affecting flights across the Southeast and at Newark Airport in New Jersey, while the agency imposed a ground stop at Austin Airport in Texas and a ground delay program at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport that delayed flights by an average of 18 minutes.
Southwest Airlines had 47 per cent, or 2,089, of its flights delayed on Sunday, while American Airlines had 1,277, or 36pc, of its flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. United Airlines had 27pc, or 807, of its flights delayed and Delta Air Lines had 21pc, or 725, of its flights delayed.
Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay.
Yesterday, Southwest had 24pc of flights delayed, American 18pc and Delta 13pc as of 5pm ET (2100 GMT), according to FlightAware.
A US Department of Transportation official said 44pc of Sunday’s delays stemmed from controller absences – up sharply from the usual 5pc.
The mounting delays and cancellations are fuelling public frustration and intensifying scrutiny of the shutdown’s impact, raising pressure on legislators to resolve the budget impasse.
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