Air traffic controller shortages at nearly 50 percent of the nation’s 30 most congested airports have exacerbated commercial airline delays nationwide, with officials warning that it could be a foreboding sign of the coming holiday season.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated on Friday that staffing shortfalls are widespread, as a federal government shutdown hit its 31st day.
The busy skies above New York were the epicenter of delays, with 80 percent of controllers absent. Airports in Austin, Newark, and Nashville also struggled with operational issues, resulting in average delays of 61 minutes in Nashville, 50 minutes in Austin, and 101 minutes in Newark.
By early afternoon Eastern Time, the aviation analytics platform FlightAware showed more than 2,200 delayed flights and 300 cancellations nationwide, a continuation of Thursday’s turmoil, when over 7,300 delays and 1,250 cancellations affected travelers at hubs such as Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Washington, D.C. The delays followed 5,600 delays on Oct. 27 and hours-long holdups on Oct. 26….