Air Travel Delays Are Ramping Up. The Shutdown Could Make Things Worse.

Travel delays could continue to pile up if federal workers at airports start calling in sick. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Over 2,800 U.S. flights were delayed on Tuesday, following 6,148 delays on Monday and 5,234 on Sunday, according to data from FlightAware.com.
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted a “slight tick up” in sick calls from airport workers since the government shutdown began.
• The aviation industry already faces a shortage of nearly 2,000 air traffic controllers since 2010, exacerbated by the current government shutdown.

Flight delays have been ramping up in recent days. The government shutdown could make things worse.

More than 2,800 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were delayed as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.com. That’s after 6,154 flights were delayed on Monday, and the 5,234 flights delayed on Sunday.

Factors including adverse weather and other issues affected travel through major airports such as Chicago’s O’Hare, Atlanta’s Hartfield, and New York’s John F. Kennedy, plus airports serving Denver, Orlando, Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, according to FlightAware data.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged on Monday that there has been an increase in sick calls by airport workers since the government shutdown began Oct. 1. At a briefing at Newark Liberty International Airport, Duffy said: “So we’re tracking sick calls, sick leave, and have we had a slight tick up in sick calls? Yes, and then you’ll see delays that come from that.”

Burbank, Calif.’s, airport near Los Angeles was without any air traffic controllers for several hours on Monday night, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Thanks, @realDonaldTrump!” Newsom said on X. “Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15pm to 10pm today because of YOUR government shutdown.”

Air traffic controllers, airport security agents, and other federal employees at airports are considered essential workers and must show up to work, but won’t get paid for their time until the government reopens. In previous shutdowns, that has led to a rise in sick calls by workers in those professions.

The aviation industry was already coping with a shortage of air traffic controllers generally. Their numbers dropped by nearly 2,000 workers between 2010 and 2024. And then the administration fired hundreds of workers at the Federal Aviation Administration in February, though Duffy said at the time that they didn’t include air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel.

But now the shutdown could exacerbate the issue.

Transportation Security Administration agents are also working without pay during the shutdown. Joe Shuker, vice president of the America Federal Government Employees Council 100/TSA Region 7, told MSNBC’s Alex Witt on Saturday that workers are having to stretch their last paychecks until “God knows when,” noting that the last government shutdown lasted 35 days. That shutdown, from Dec. 22, 2018, through Jan. 25, 2019, was during Trump’s first administration.

Asked how likely it was that federal workers would call out sick this time, Shuker said: “It’s very likely, and it’s probably starting to happen now.”

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents nearly 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety professionals, posted a message on its website saying that NATCA doesn’t endorse, support, or condone any federal workers participating in coordinated activities that affect the National Airspace System, and that they “take their responsibility to protect the safety of the flying public very seriously.”

NATCA told its members that “it is more important than ever that we rise to the occasion and continue delivering the consistent, high-level of public service we provide every day.” The union said it was sensitive to the political climate, which has put federal employees under heightened scrutiny. “We cannot stress enough that it is essential to avoid any actions that could reflect poorly on you, our Union, or our professions.”

NATCA President Nick Daniels joined Duffy on Monday to call for an end to the shutdown so that the FAA and aviation safety professionals can focus on their vital work, including the goals of “accelerating the hiring of air traffic controllers and modernizing our air traffic control system.”

“Both of these initiatives are long overdue and require our immediate and full attention,” Daniels said. “We do not have the luxury of time to waste on the unnecessary distractions created by this shutdown.”

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com