A Los Angeles area airport had no air traffic controllers on Monday evening, while travellers around the US faced delays due to the government shutdown.
Hollywood Burbank Airport’s control tower was left unstaffed for around six hours from 4:15 p.m. PT, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X.
Flights could still take off and land as approach operations were handled remotely by a facility in San Diego. For taxiing to and from the runway, pilots were left to communicate among themselves to avoid incidents.
Passengers faced an average delay of two and a half hours, and up to four hours, per an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Besides delays, there were no reported issues during the unstaffed time at Burbank, which handles around 6.5 million passengers every year, and is Los Angeles’ third-busiest airport after LAX and John Wayne Airport.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, Newark Liberty International Airport also saw staffing shortages.
Incoming flights were delayed by nearly an hour on average, with over 130 affected, according to data from FlightAware.
It was a similar story in Denver, where a third of Monday’s arriving flights, more than 350, were delayed.
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Flights into Phoenix, Detroit, and Las Vegas were also impacted by understaffing.
There are some 13,000 air traffic controllers in the US, who are not being paid during the government shutdown but must still turn up for work.
They are set to miss their first paycheck next Tuesday.
Hours before Monday’s travel delays kicked off, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference warning about the impact.
Duffy said some would be asking themselves questions like, “Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a stressful job?”
Duffy added that slightly more controllers have been calling in sick since the shutdown began last Wednesday.
The lack of federal funding could also lead to some routes being cut if the shutdown persists. That’s because the government funds a program called the Essential Air Service, subsidizing flights to small communities.
