There would not be enough air traffic controllers in the tower at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Tuesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration warned. In Nashville, so many controllers have stayed home, the facility – which guides planes into and out of the airport – is closing.
Now, after more than a week of the government shutdown, same scenarios are unfolding at FAA offices across the country, with ripple effects hitting flights almost everywhere.
The approach and departure facilities for Houston, Newark and Las Vegas did not have enough controllers working for at least part of Tuesday evening, along with the facilities that handle planes in the Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas areas, FAA operations plans noted.
Houston’s two major airports, Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, were both expected to see ground delays due to staffing shortage.
The aviation problems come as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says more controllers are calling out sick. Like Transportation Security Administration officers, air traffic controllers are considered essential employees and must work without pay during the shutdown.
Organised job actions like strikes or sickouts are prohibited by federal law, but since air traffic control staffing is so tight, a small number of employees taking unscheduled time off can be enough to cause problems.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was expected to operate without a full complement of controllers in the air traffic control tower for nine hours Tuesday night. The airport is one of the busiest in the country, with more than 1000 flights a day. Early Tuesday evening ground delays for flights headed to O’Hare averaged 41 minutes.
In Nashville, the approach facility, which guides planes into and out of the airport, had to shut down for five hours Tuesday night. Flights heading to the airport had to contact a regional air traffic control center in Memphis to enter the airspace. Ground delays for flights headed to Nashville were expected to average two hours Tuesday night.
The problems are similar to what happened Monday at Hollywood Burbank International Airport in California, where the entire tower was forced to shut down. (CNN)
