The United States government has been facing an air crisis since October 1. Air traffic controllers have carried out a strike demanding better working conditions. This is causing flight delays at multiple airports across the country, including Houston, Nashville, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark in New York. According to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has detected that air traffic personnel has decreased by 50% since the shutdown began, and there has been an increase in sick leaves among controllers.
For his part, industry analyst Henry Harteveldt has warned of the growing problem posed by federal workers continuing to perform their jobs without receiving their pay. The flight tracking website Flight Aware has detected multiple flight delays, which have affected airlines such as Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. Amid all the commotion (and far from proposing a solution), the Democratic and Republican parties blame each other, while the former demands improvements to the health insurance tax credits that were affected by President Trump’s cuts.
Shutdown at airports in the United States
Why has this shutdown occurred? What has happened is that they have been unable to reach an agreement in Congress on the national budget, which has left various agencies without funds right at the beginning of October. This directly affects the workers of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), since it is considered an essential agency and they must continue providing their service even if they do not receive their salary immediately. Given this situation, many workers decide not to go to their workplace, which results in more work for a smaller number of workers.
Government shutdown delays U.S. flights
So far, the data accounts for more than 3,000 delayed flights at multiple airports, including Houston, Nashville, Dallas, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark, New York. Although air traffic controllers are expected to show up to work even if they do not receive their pay, the fact is that data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recorded an increase in medical leave among controllers, in addition to more than 50% of air traffic personnel not showing up for work, as explained by the United States Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy.
He also stated on Fox News’ Fox and Friends, “If we don’t have controllers, we will make sure that the airspace is safe. So what we do is slow down the traffic. The longer the shutdown continues, the higher the likelihood that it will affect holiday travel plans in November”.
Delayed Flight Records
According to data recorded on the flight tracking website FlightAware, more than 3,000 flights have been delayed. A deeper analysis shows that 225 of these delays occurred in Nashville (representing approximately 20% of its flights), and more than 570 occurred at Chicago O’Hare (over 20% of its flights). Additionally, airlines such as Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have been affected, with delays of more than 500 and 400 flights, respectively.
Who is responsible for this chaos?
As this problem grows and the risk of broader impacts may occur, as explained by Henry Harteveldt, industry analyst, Republicans and Democrats are busy blaming each other. While Republicans claim that Democrats want to provide medical care to illegal immigrants, Democrats have demanded that an extension of the enhanced health insurance tax credits be included and that President Trump’s cuts be reversed in any funding agreement put on the table.