PHOENIX – For the second consecutive day, authorities issued a staffing-related ground delay advisory for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday.
Flights to Sky Harbor were expected to be an average of nearly two hours late from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., with the disruptions projected to worsen as the day progresses, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In fact, the delays are expected to average two hours or more from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The FAA temporarily slows down or stops flight activity whenever airports are short of air traffic controllers, something that is happening more often during the government shutdown.
How many Sky Harbor flights were delayed?
Sky Harbor’s social media accounts said the airport was anticipating delays due to air traffic capacity constraints.
Flight-tracking website FlightAware listed 224 delays and 18 cancellations on Wednesday for flights into or out of Phoenix as of 1:40 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Sky Harbor website showed nearly 240 departures that were scheduled between 1 p.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Thursday as delayed and 18 canceled.
Wednesday’s numbers are higher than they were during Tuesday’s ground delay.
Sky Harbor officials have been encouraging passengers to monitor their flight status before leaving for the airport and leave plenty of time to get through security.
The Phoenix airport maintains a webpage that shows current security wait times.
Staffing shortages disrupting air travel nationwide during shutdown
As essential workers, air traffic controllers are required to work without pay during the shutdown with the expectation they will be reimbursed once the government reopens. However, more controllers are calling out sick to protest the situation.
On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that staffing shortages could create “mass chaos” if the shutdown causes controllers to miss a second paycheck next week.
“You will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday that Duffy will do what’s necessary to keep air travel safe as the holiday season approaches.
“The secretary has the responsibility, and I believe Secretary Duffy will fulfill that responsibility to ensure that the safety of the skies is as safe as possible,” Stanton said. “So, the secretary will do what he’s got to do to maintain air safety in the United States of America.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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