The government shutdown continues to wreak havoc on the nation’s airports as it heads toward a second month of many employees going unpaid.
Both Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and San Diego Airport reported ground delays Friday due to lack of staff.
Americans are likely to face even more flight interruptions after Congress failed to provide last-minute relief for air-traffic controllers and other federal aviation workers whose paychecks will stall due to the government shutdown.
While Donald Trump‘s administration moved funds to delay impact on some areas – such as pay for the troops – lawmakers warn that next week aviation workers will not receive their paychecks.
Around 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers are facing work without pay, leading to surging absences and sick says. Since the shutdown began on October 1, staff absences have contributed to 53 percent of all flight delays compared to the usual 5 percent.
On some days almost 6,000 flights have been hit by delays, with several major airports forced to impose ground stops due to the shortages.
On Friday, more than 4,000 flights were delayed across the country. At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, there were average delays of 34 minutes due to staffing shortages, while at Newark ‘compacted demand’ was causing a 55-minute average delay.
Hellbound and Down 