According to the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.), Orlando was forced to suspend all incoming flights for a period on Thursday evening due to a lack of certified controllers. The airport reported average delays of about two hours and forty minutes, with some passengers facing waits of nearly twelve hours. Several flights were ultimately canceled.
The staffing shortages rippled through the East Coast aviation network. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York imposed a ground stop for certain flights, compounding delays already caused by storms and an earlier aircraft emergency. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., saw afternoon and evening slowdowns as controller absences mounted.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had earlier warned of potential “disaster” if the government shutdown – now entering its second month – continued into November. They cautioned that the strain on unpaid air traffic controllers would worsen as the holiday travel season approaches and winter weather intensifies.
“A lot of our people can go through the miss of one paycheck,” Mr. Duffy said outside the White House after meeting with airline industry executives. “None of them can get through two paychecks.”
The F.A.A. currently employs around 14,000 air traffic controllers, but nearly 3,000 of those positions remain vacant. Before the shutdown, many controllers were already working overtime to cover gaps. The missed paychecks and rising workload have now pushed staffing to a breaking point, officials said.
Despite the disruptions, Mr. Duffy maintained that the nation’s air travel system remains safe, emphasizing that the F.A.A. is carefully managing air traffic loads to ensure that no facility is overburdened.
Still, with thousands of flights delayed and more bad weather expected, airline executives and travelers alike fear that the worst may be yet to come if the shutdown continues into the peak holiday season.
Tags: Sean Duffy Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.), Orlando, US East Coast airports