USA TODAY: There were just over 500 canceled flights around the United States as of 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 13, according to FlightAware, and the Federal Aviation Administration suggested that most of those issues were weather-related.
Still, the agency cited staffing issues at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as the reason it needed to implement a ground stop for flights heading there. The FAA order meant that flights departing for Austin would be delayed an average of 40 minutes between 4 p.m. CT and 10 p.m. CT, according to the agency.
Since the government shutdown began two weeks ago, sporadic staffing issues have led to flight delays at various airports across the country, but overall, the aviation system has performed at normal levels of both timeliness and safety.
On Oct. 6, the air traffic control tower at Burbank, California, went unstaffed for a few hours overnight, leading to flight delays in the area.
The next day, the FAA issued a brief ground stop due to staffing issues at Nashville International Airport.
The agency has had long-standing issues with staffing, but they have been compounded by the government shutdown.
In a press conference on Oct. 6, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that the shutdown was putting a strain on air traffic controllers, but insisted that flying remains safe for the American public.
“One facility one day, another facility another day, some areas have seen a 50% reduction in some of the staffing,” he said. “We take the appropriate action to make sure our skies are safe … If we see those issues in the tower that are affecting controllers’ ability to effectively control the airspace, we’ll reduce the rate, and you can see more delays or you can see a cancellation.”
