- Air traffic control staffing issues delay flights in 12 major US cities.
- FAA imposes ground delay plans, Atlanta flights delayed 337 mins.
- Transportation Secretary Duffy warns of potential 20% air traffic cuts.
US airlines cancelled 1,330 flights on Day 2 of government-mandated flight cuts across the country on Saturday, and the industry braced for more cancellations as the federal shutdown continues.
The Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights starting on Friday at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns. The shutdown has led to shortages of air traffic controllers because they have not been paid for weeks.
Reductions in flights will rise to 6% on Tuesday before hitting 10% by November 14.
25 airports face flight jam
The FAA on Saturday reported air traffic control staffing issues at 25 airports and other centres, delaying flights in at least 12 major US cities, including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.
The FAA imposed ground delay programs at several airports on Saturday, with delays averaging 337 minutes for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest US airports.
Some 5,450 flights were delayed on Saturday after 7,000 were delayed and 1,025 were cancelled on Friday.
The cuts, which began at 6am ET (1100 GMT) on Friday, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Those airlines cancelled about the same number of flights on Saturday.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers have not been showing up for work over the past several days.
During a US Senate debate on Friday, Senator Ted Cruz blamed the shutdown for air traffic control concerns. Cruz, a Texas Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said he has been told that since the shutdown started, pilots have filed more than 500 voluntary safety reports about mistakes made by air traffic controllers because of fatigue.
During the record 39-day government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners were forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism.
Many air traffic controllers were notified on Thursday that they would receive no compensation for a second consecutive pay period next week.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible he could require 20% cuts in air traffic if more controllers stop showing up for work. “I assess the data,” Duffy said. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.”
The Trump administration has cited air traffic control problems as Republicans try to pressure Senate Democrats to back what they call a “clean” government funding bill with no strings attached.
Democrats blame the shutdown on a Republican refusal to negotiate over health insurance subsidies that will expire at the end of this year.
