Flight delays and diversions related to the lack of air traffic controllers persist this Monday in the United States, following the worst weekend recorded at the country's airports since the start of the federal government shutdown, which today marks its 34th day without an agreement in Congress.
Airports in Newark (New Jersey) and the New York metropolitan area reported staffing issues this morning, continuing their difficulties from recent days. More than 98 "staffing alerts" were recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) between Friday morning and Sunday night, forcing Newark's terminal to adjust and briefly suspend its operations.
Nearly 80% of air traffic controllers in the New York metropolitan area were absent on Friday, Halloween, with a similar trend reported among these essential employees, who are working without pay during the federal shutdown, at about half of the country's 30 major airports, according to the FAA.
Control towers in Austin and Dallas (Texas), Newark, Boston (Massachusetts), Denver (Colorado), Nashville (Tennessee), and Phoenix (Arizona) also reported staffing shortages over the weekend.
The absence of these employees, whether due to illness or seeking temporary income opportunities, further complicates the situation at U.S. air traffic control towers, where controllers were already in short supply.
Over the past three days, there were also disruptions in the operations of controllers handling high-altitude flights and those managing airport arrivals and departures, according to reports from CNN.
During "staffing alerts," control towers must modify their operations to ensure airspace safety due to insufficient staff to handle the usual workload.
Since the shutdown began on October 1, 395 staffing alerts have been reported, four times more than during the same period last year.
The funding-related shutdown enters its 34th day on Monday with no sign of an agreement in the Senate, where a temporary Republican resolution to fund government agencies and programs until November 21 is expected to fail again this afternoon.
If new funding is not approved in the next two days, it is anticipated that on Wednesday, November 5, the current U.S. record for the longest shutdown in history, currently at 35 days, will be broken.
This last shutdown ended precisely under pressure from the aviation industry after controller absences disrupted operations at the nation's most important airports.
Funding for the SNAP food assistance program also ran out on November 1, increasing pressure on Democratic and Republican lawmakers to reach an agreement.
