Major US air traffic staffing shortages snarl flights
David Shepardson |
Major air traffic control staffing shortages have snarled thousands of flights as the US government shutdown causes mounting travel woes and alarm among airline officials.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Saturday there were air traffic control staffing issues affecting 42 airport towers and other centres and delaying flights in at least 12 major US cities – including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. Flights crossing six different high-traffic areas were also facing delays.
Some 1500 flights were cancelled and 6000 flights were delayed on Saturday, compared with Friday when 1025 were cancelled and 7000 were delayed.
Airline officials privately said the number of delay programs made it nearly impossible to schedule and plan many flights and expressed alarm about how the system would function if staffing issues worsen.
The FAA instructed airlines to cut four per cent of daily flights starting on Friday at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns.
The shutdown, which has reached a record 39 days, has led to shortages of air traffic controllers who, like other federal employees, have not been paid for weeks.
Reductions in flights are mandated to rise to six per cent on Tuesday and then hit 10 per cent by November 14.
The air traffic absences prompted the FAA to impose ground delay programs at nine airports on Saturday, with delays averaging 282 minutes for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest US airports.
The cuts, which began on Friday morning, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American Airlines , Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
The four airlines cancelled about the same number of flights on Saturday, under the FAA mandate, but were forced to cancel additional flights due to air traffic control staffing issues.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20 to 40 per cent of controllers had not been showing up for work over the previous several days.
Senator Ted Cruz said he has been told that since the shutdown started, pilots have filed more than 500 voluntary safety reports about mistakes made by air traffic controllers because of fatigue.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Saturday that bipartisan talks to end the shutdown had taken a positive turn, but the workday ended with no deals announced. The Senate is to try again with a rare Sunday session.
During the government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism.
Many air traffic controllers were notified on Thursday that they would receive no compensation for a second consecutive pay period next week.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible he could require 20 per cent cuts in air traffic if more controllers stop showing up for work.
with AP
Reuters
