2LT International News

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Flight delays stretched across the U.S. as the government shutdown entered its second month, deepening air traffic controller shortages that have strained airports nationwide and disrupted thousands of flights.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was among the hardest hit, with average delays of two to three hours, according to federal aviation data. The ripple effects spread quickly across the New York region, forcing airlines to juggle gate assignments and rebook passengers.

“Travelers flying to, from, or through New York should expect schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections,” New York City’s Emergency Management office said on X. “Anyone flying today should check flight status before heading to the airport and expect longer waits.”

Other major hubs also reported problems. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Dallas Fort Worth International, and Chicago O’Hare each logged dozens of delays and some cancellations, while San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Miami airports faced similar backlogs, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

As of November 2, 4,295 flights had been delayed, and 557 had been canceled within, into, or out of the U.S., though not all were directly tied to the controller shortage. Before the shutdown began, roughly 69 percent of U.S. flights were on time, with only 2.5 percent canceled.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that flight disruptions would worsen the longer the shutdown drags on and federal employees continue working without pay. Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have now gone weeks without receiving a paycheck, the Federal Aviation Administration said late last week.

“We work overtime to make sure the system is safe. And we will slow traffic down, you’ll see delays, we’ll have flights canceled to make sure the system is safe,” Duffy said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Still, Duffy said he had no plans to fire controllers who fail to show up for work. “When they’re making decisions to feed their families, I’m not going to fire air traffic controllers,” he said. “They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck. They don’t need to be fired.”

Earlier in October, Duffy had issued a sterner warning, saying controllers who called in sick rather than work unpaid risked termination. But with shortages growing worse, his tone has shifted to one of sympathy as the shutdown drags on.

The FAA was already short about 3,000 controllers before the government shutdown began, part of a long-standing staffing problem that has worsened as retirements outpace training.