Insufficient staffing at air traffic control facilities was poised to cause a second day of widespread delays on Friday, as several large airports reported service interruptions.
By early Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration was reporting average delays of about two hours for flights bound to Boston Logan International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Nashville International Airport, and shorter staffing-related setbacks for flights heading to two large Texas hubs: Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
The slowdowns followed a chaotic night of air travel Thursday, when the F.A.A. stated that no certified controllers were expected to show up for the evening shift at Orlando International Airport, forcing the agency to take contingency measures that caused spillover delays at airports along the East Coast. It was not clear if staffing conditions would worsen throughout the afternoon and evening on Friday, when the number of flights tends to increase as people travel for the weekend.
“The impact is growing over time with more ground delay programs due to staffing,” said Michael McCormick, a professor of air traffic management at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. “But I do not see any signs of organized activity for a slowdown.”
The F.A.A.’s work force of approximately 11,000 certified air traffic controllers has risen to uncommon prominence during the federal government shutdown, now the second-longest on record as it enters its second month. Senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly highlighted the plight of controllers who are going unpaid through the shutdown even as they are required to continue showing up to work. That combination, officials said, has left many strapped for cash and forced to take on side gigs to make ends meet, particularly since Tuesday, their first full missed payday.
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that flight delays would increase, and passengers’ ability to reach their destinations would become more tenuous, if the shutdown continued into November, when holiday travel picks up. Those comments came two days after the head of the air traffic controllers’ union said the stresses on his members were making the nation’s air travel system “less safe.”
The increased number of flights, as well as worsening weather, would put additional stressors on the already overtaxed controllers at the same time as the financial crunch of the shutdown would become untenable, officials said. Mr. Duffy has said on multiple occasions this week that while some controllers may have enough savings to weather one missed paycheck, few would get through a second one unscathed.
Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.
Christine Chung is a Times reporter covering airlines and consumer travel.
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