Major airports across the US are seeing delays for a second day due to staffing issues, as the federal government’s shutdown continues.
More than 3,000 flights have been delayed, according to flight tracking data, as staffing shortages have affected a growing number of airports, including Houston, Nashville, Dallas, Chicago O’Hare and Newark, New York.
Air traffic controllers are expected to show up for work even though they won’t be paid during a government shutdown.
They are, however, due to receive partial pay next week for work carried out before the shutdown, which started on 1 October.
Sean Duffy, US secretary of transportation, said on Monday the Federal Aviation Administration had seen a slight increase in controllers taking sick leave, and air traffic staffing had been cut by 50% in some areas since the shutdown began.
“If we don’t have controllers, we’re going to make sure the airspace is safe. So what we do is we’ll slow traffic,” Mr Duffy said on Tuesday on Fox News’ Fox and Friends.
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But the risk of wider impacts to the US aviation system “is growing by the day” as federal workers whose jobs are deemed critical continue working without pay, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said.
The longer the shutdown drags on, the more likely it is to affect holiday travel plans in November, he said.
“I’m gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down, then it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans’ Thanksgiving holidays,” he added.
FlightAware, a flight tracking website, said more than 3,000 US flights had been delayed on Tuesday, including 225 at Nashville – or 20% of its flights – and more than 570 flights at Chicago O’Hare, more than 20% of its flights.
Southwest Airlines has delayed more than 500 flights and American Airlines 400 flights, FlightAware data showed.
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Both Republicans and Democrats have blamed each other for the shutdown after Congress failed to agree on short-term legislation to fund the government.
Democrats demanded any funding measure included an extension of enhanced health insurance tax credits and reversed US President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, a scheme that provides health insurance for people with limited income.
Republicans have, in turn, claimed Democrats want to provide health care for illegal immigrants.
