Air traffic control staffing problems continue to cause delays as shutdown drags on
By Pete Muntean, Nicki Brown, Aaron Cooper, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration reported 12 of their facilities were short-staffed on Friday, including some which have caused delays for travelers.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport will not have the normal number of staff in its control tower from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. Delays there started earlier due to staffing shortages in the facility that operates the surrounding airspace.
Two separate parts of the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center, that manages flights over a large portion of the Southwest, is understaffed until 3 p.m. ET. Chicago Center will not have all of its controllers until 1 a.m. ET, Indianapolis Center will be short staffed from midnight to 6 a.m. ET, and New York Center will be understaffed until 11 p.m. ET.
The Central Florida TRACON, where controllers guide planes approaching or departing Orlando International Airport, will be short-staffed from 7 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET. Two parts of the Southern California TRACON reported staffing issues until midnight ET and the Chicago TRACON is short-staffed until 1 a.m. ET.
Two different FAA operations that deal with traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport reported staffing problems earlier Friday. The control tower and the facility that handles flights approaching or departing the airport did not have their normal amount of workers, which led to delays.
Not all staffing problems cause delays, as controllers can sometimes route planes to other airspace with more workers, but there are times slowing flights so a reduced number of staff can manage them is the only way to make everyone is safe.
The reasons for the short staffing are not clear, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday a “small fraction” of controllers were “lashing out” because of the government shutdown and not going to work.
Air traffic controllers, along with Transportation Security Administration officers, are considered essential employees and have to work during the shutdown, despite not being currently paid.
Twelve FAA facilities saw staffing shortages Thursday, including airport towers, approach controls which handle arriving and departing flights as well as centers that handle flights en route.
Busy holiday weekend
This busy holiday weekend travelers are being warned they could see delays and cancellations from the government shutdown at the airports.
“It is safe to fly, but ATC staffing shortages strain the system and cause flights to be spaced out, slowing down everything. In some cases, flights may be delayed or even cancelled,” Airlines for America, the industry trade group, said in a statement.
Thursday was the 12th busiest day so far in 2025, according to the Transportation Security Administration and the rest of the weekend is expected to be busy as well.
“The bottom line is that anyone heading to the airport right now is encouraged to pack their patience,” Airlines for America added.
FAA: ‘Safety and efficiency’ depends on controllers showing up
The “safety and efficiency” of air travel in the United States depends on unpaid air traffic controllers showing up to work, the FAA administrator said in a memo to employees on Friday morning.
“To the entire FAA team, both those continuing operations and those currently furloughed, thank you for your professionalism and resilience,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in the email. “Your efforts to keep thousands of flights operating safely each day are noticed and deeply appreciated.”
On Thursday Duffy noted more than half of air traffic delays are now being caused by staffing shortages, as opposed to only 5% earlier this year.
“As Secretary Duffy has said, staffing shortages have increased across the country. Air traffic controllers are still required to report to work and carry out their critical duties. The safety and efficiency of our airspace depend on them,” Bedford said in the memo.
He also vowed to delay flights whenever necessary to make sure they are safe.
“I also want to be very clear that safety will never be compromised. When staffing constraints occur, we will reduce the flow of air traffic into affected airports and centers to maintain safe operations,” Bedford said. “We will get through this together and continue delivering for the American people.”
On Tuesday, air traffic controllers will receive a partial paycheck for hours worked before the shutdown. They will not be paid for the time they are working now until the government reopens.
‘Small sick outs’ won’t hold the country ‘hostage,’ Transportation secretary says
Duffy said on Thursday he will not allow air traffic controllers to use their position as a “bludgeon” for political purposes, including calling out sick during the government shutdown.
There has been a shortage of air traffic controllers for years, so even a small number of unscheduled absences can lead to delayed flights
“When we have small sick outs, if you will, it has massive impacts on the airspace,” the secretary said in an interview with CNN partner Scripps News. “We can’t be held hostage, anywhere in government or in our lives, with people who are going to use their positions as a bludgeon.”
Duffy noted most controllers are “great people” but he reiterated his commitment to fire the “small few” who chose not to come to work to protest the shutdown.
“If they’re sick, they’re sick. I’m fine with that. But if they’re not showing up to work, and they’re calling out for other reasons, and it’s coordinated and they collaborate on it, I don’t want those people working in air traffic,” he said. “I’m not going to have them leverage our system, our air travel system, for political benefit. I don’t like it, and so I’m willing to make changes that are necessary so that doesn’t happen again in the future.”
Air traffic controllers are not responsible for ending the shutdown, union leaders say in videos
Local leaders of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) spoke about the importance of air traffic controllers continuing to show up to work in a video message published on the 10th day of the federal government shutdown.
“Even though some aspects of the government may shut down, we never do,” Vanesa Hess, facility vice president at Denver Center, said in the video.
Patrick James, a facility president at Kansas City Center, said it was “vitally important” for air traffic controllers to “continue to show up to work and maintain the safe skies the American people deserve.”
“I urge you – if you’re fit for duty, continue to serve the American flying public,” Alex Cisneros, facility president at Southern California TRACON, said in the video message.
In a separate video released Friday, the head of NATCA urged elected officials to end the federal shutdown and pushed back on the “persistent false narrative that air traffic controllers somehow control its outcome.”
“Let me be clear: air traffic controllers did not start this shutdown, and we will not be responsible for ending it,” NATCA president Nick Daniels said in a video statement Friday.
NATCA represents nearly 11,000 certified Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and more than 3,300 trainees, according to the organization.
Daniels said the system has been facing challenges for years, adding that hundreds of ATC Zero events – where a control facility shuts down – earlier this year received little media attention. The control tower at Burbank Hollywood Airport went ATC Zero earlier this week when there were not enough staff to operate it.
“The difference now is the extreme attention being paid to these things and the unfair assignment of blame on the aviation professionals that continue to keep this nation’s airspace running during a government shutdown,” he said.
Daniels said his organization will continue to work alongside the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford to address some of the problems facing the air traffic control system, including by increasing hiring and modernizing equipment.
“The current shutdown is an unfortunate obstacle to achieving these important shared goals, and at this moment of historic aviation challenges, NATCA’s leaders and its members remain steadfast,” the president said.
He thanked air traffic controllers for their “unwavering professionalism.”
“You are highly trained, highly skilled, and uniquely positioned to make sure that the system remains the safest and most efficient in the world,” Daniels said. “You remain the unsung heroes of the aviation system even as you work without a paycheck with no clear end in sight.”
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