Air Traffic Woes: How the Government Shutdown is Messing Up Your Flights

The U. S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently facing a tough time. They are struggling to manage flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The reason? Not enough air traffic controllers are showing up to work. This is all happening because the government shutdown is now in its 30th day. Flights are being delayed left and right. At Reagan Airport, flights are running about 91 minutes behind schedule. In Dallas, it's around 21 minutes. And it's not just these two airports. Orlando is next in line for delays. Tens of thousands of flights have already been delayed or canceled because of this staffing issue. Earlier on Thursday, the FAA had to issue a ground stop at Reagan Airport. This means no flights could take off or land until the situation improved. Bad weather in the northeast is also making things worse. Over 13, 000 air traffic controllers and 50, 000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are working without pay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared some concerning stats. He said that 44% of flight delays on Sunday and 24% on Monday were because air traffic controllers weren't at work. Before the shutdown, this number was only 5%. The FAA is already short-staffed by about 3, 500 air traffic controllers. Even before the shutdown, these controllers were working long hours and six-day weeks. This situation is not sustainable.