The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday due to staffing issues as a federal government shutdown nears the end of its first week.
Delays at O’Hare, which were expected to average 41 minutes, come as flight disruptions have spread to airports across the country. According to the FAA, delays due to staffing were also in place Tuesday evening at airports in Texas and Nashville.
The O’Hare ground delay was slated to last from 6 to 10:59 p.m. Tuesday, according to the FAA alert.
On Monday, President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said some air traffic controllers — who are expected to work without pay during government shutdowns — had started to call in sick.
The controllers’ union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, has called for an end to the shutdown. NATCA warned members against participating in “coordinated activity” in a message on its website.
“Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” NATCA wrote. The union has said that during the last government shutdown, some air traffic controllers had to take on second jobs to pay their bills.
The union also warned members that “in the current political climate, federal employees are under heightened scrutiny.”
“We cannot stress enough that it is essential to avoid any actions that could reflect poorly on you, our Union, or our professions,” NATCA wrote in a Q&A posted on its website.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, 21% of flights departing O’Hare on Tuesday were delayed.
“This is what happens when you have a government shutdown,” said Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines pilot based out of O’Hare and spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association union.
Tajer said he expects delays to get worse the longer the shutdown drags on. Still, he said, it’s the right call to institute a ground delay when staffing in air traffic towers is lacking.
“The alternative is ignore that, and make a situation unsafe,” he said.
