\n Controllers are considered essential workers, so they must work during the shutdown, but are not being paid.\n <\/p>\n
\n Twelve Federal Aviation Administration facilities saw staffing shortages Monday night. The control towers in Burbank, Phoenix and Denver had so called \u201cstaffing triggers\u201d reported in the public FAA operations plan. Other facilities that handle air traffic around airports in Newark, New Jersey; Jacksonville, Florida; Chicago, Washington, DC, and Indianapolis also were short staffed.\n <\/p>\n
\n Perhaps the most dramatic impact was at the Burbank airport where the control tower was entirely shut down around 4:15 p.m. Monday afternoon. Flights could take off and land but had to follow procedures typically used at small airports without control towers. Delays of more than two and a half hours were reported at one point.\n <\/p>\n
\n Denver International and Newark Liberty International airports saw ground delays where flights were prohibited from taking off until controllers were able to handle them. Both airports are major hubs for United Airlines; the airline did not respond to CNN\u2019s request for comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n The number of controllers calling out sick has increased since the start of the shutdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news conference Monday after talking with controllers in the tower at Newark.\n <\/p>\n
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\n \u201cSo now what they think about as they\u2019re controlling our airspace, is, \u2018How am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car payment?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cDo I think they\u2019re more stressed right now in our towers? Yes. Is our airspace unsafe? No.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n During this shutdown, Duffy said, the government will do what is necessary to keep the airspace safe.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIf we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that\u2019s safe for the American people,\u201d he said, foreshadowing the delays seen later in the day.\n <\/p>\n
\n The 35-day government shutdown that stretched from December 2018 to January 2019 ended after 10 air traffic controllers stayed home<\/a>, snarling air traffic. The delays, coupled with TSA agents calling out sick causing backups at security checkpoints, led to the end of that shutdown.\n <\/p>\n \n Organized job actions like strikes are prohibited by federal law<\/a>, but since air traffic control staffing is so tight a small number of employees taking unscheduled time off could be enough to cause major problems.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf someone has to take sick leave to drive Uber to make the difference, those are decisions they\u2019re going to make themselves,\u201d Duffy said, calling for an end to the shutdown, which he blames on congressional Democrats. \u201cI don\u2019t want them finding a second job to pay them, a job to pay the bills. I want them to get paid for the work they\u2019re doing today, keeping our planes in the air.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union which represents controllers, said the problems highlight a decades long staffing shortage.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt is normal for a few air traffic controllers to \u2026<\/strong> call in sick on any given day, and this is the latest example of how fragile our aviation system is in the midst of a national shortage of these critical safety professionals,\u201d NATCA said in a statement. \u201cNearly 11,000 fully certified controllers remain on the job, many working 10-hour shifts as many as six days a week, showing extraordinary dedication to safely guiding millions of passengers to their destinations\u2013all without getting paid during this shutdown.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In Burbank Monday, the pilot who radioed the control tower before takeoff received a message noting the workers had gone home.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cClearence is closed, ground is closed, local is closed. The tower is closed due to staffing, please contact SoCal on the 800 (phone) number,\u201d a voice on the tower frequency told a pilot, in audio recorded by LiveATC.net.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Southern California TRACON, an FAA facility in San Diego that handles traffic across the region, took over some operations, but many aspects of air traffic control were left to the pilots.\n <\/p>\n \n The tower radio frequency became a \u201ccommon traffic advisory frequency,\u201d which means pilots coordinate their intentions to any other planes listening and are responsible to listen and stay clear of other aircraft.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBurbank traffic, this is Southwest 737 (flight) 2998 departing runway 15 at Burbank,\u201d a Southwest Airlines pilot told whoever was listening, according to LiveATC.net. \u201cAny other traffic please advise.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Two helicopters nearby responded and said they were not in the way of the takeoff.\n <\/p>\n \n The procedure is usually used at smaller airports which do not have a control tower or during slow periods where smaller towers are closed, such as overnight.\n <\/p>\n \n Adding to the pain for travelers amid the shutdown is an expiration of subsidies for flights to smaller cities.\n <\/p>\n \n The Essential Air Service, which provide funding for airlines to fly to small cites that otherwise might not receive air service, will expire Sunday, the Department of Transportation announced Monday.\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ap25030224189465.jpg\")
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