The US government shut down has caused flight delays and cancellations at the Hollywood Burbank Airport and others across the US, as a shortage of air traffic controllers worsens.
Air traffic control at the southern California airport was unmanned for nearly six hours and remotely managed due to staffing shortages.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said some air traffic controllers are calling in sick as the shutdown, now in its seventh day, adds stress on workers. He estimated that staffing has at times dropped to 50% in some areas.
Air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and are expected to work without pay during government shutdowns.
About 1,800 US flights and 12,000 domestic and international flights were delayed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
On Monday, staffing issues affected flights at Newark, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Burbank Airport, causing anywhere from 40-minute to 60-minute delays, according to flight data.
The shutdown began on 1 October after Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to agree on resolving a budget dispute. It’s unclear when they will be able to break the deadlock in Congress.
Some 40% of the federal workforce – about 750,000 people – are expected to be put on unpaid leave during the shutdown while essential government workers are expected to keep working without pay.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents more than 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and professionals in aviation safety, warned employees that failure to show up could lead to termination.
“Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” the union posted on its website. “It is not only illegal, but it also undermines NATCA’s credibility and severely weakens our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families.”
The warning came after Duffy said at a news conference on Monday that there has been a “slight tick” in air traffic controllers calling in sick.
“You’ll see delays come from that,” he said, adding that safety is the priority even if it means some delays or cancellations.
He said air traffic controllers should be able to focus on work and not have to worry about a paycheque.
“Now what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace is: ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage?'” he said.
Strain on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.
It prompted several air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily shutting down travel at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
That same day, Donald Trump, who in his first term as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.
