On Monday, I reported on the status of TSA and FAA workers during the current government shutdown.
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The majority of the TSA is still fully operational because the work of handling security lanes at the airport and managing flight routes via air traffic control centers is essential work. Meanwhile, the FAA, responsible for aviation safety measures and regulations for airlines, has furloughed around 25% of its employees as the shutdown goes on.
I advised travelers to give themselves extra time at the airport. Though the TSA remains fully operational at this time, employees will not be paid so long as the federal government is shut down.
Similarly, the FAA’s remaining employees are also taking off during the shutdown, creating even more concerns at airports. According to NPR, the FAA is responsible for slowing down flight traffic for airports experiencing TSA staffing shortages.
It’s a vicious cycle—one that will only compound with each day of unpaid labor.
That lack of pay affects who shows up. Previous shutdowns have seen TSA and FAA employees take off higher rates of sick days and vacation days. That means more delays when going through security, along with added air traffic control strains.
Seven days into the government shutdown, delays have started to take hold at airports across the country.
Which US airports are experiencing the most delays?
NPR’s breakdown of a recent FAA report shows that airports in Houston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, and Nashville have all experienced major delays due to staffing shortages on Tuesday, October 7. The most critical shortages are occurring in air traffic control centers.
That followed additional reported delays for Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Indianapolis, Chicago, Denver, and Phoenix from the previous day.
So far, most delays have been less than one hour. However, Los Angeles passengers at Hollywood Burbank Airport faced delays of close to three hours after air traffic control centers were left unmanned for six hours on Monday afternoon.
But lack of staff is only one side of the coin. Air traffic controllers face stressful jobs even when they’re being paid for their work. Like the US Secretary of Transportation said in a news conference on Monday about air traffic controllers, “So now what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace is, ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car payment?’”
Personally, I’d rather miss a flight due to an ATC staff shortage than rely on a chronically overworked and underpaid employee to do their high-stakes, high-stress job.