The Federal Aviation Administration is facing a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, according to the Department of Transportation. Experts say many controllers work six days a week and short staffing means even small interruptions can lead to flight delays and cancellations.
That’s what happened Monday, when California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport closed its tower for several hours because there were no air traffic controllers, even though the airport remained open. While Monday was also marked by staff shortages at other airports, as well as a cascade of flight cancellations, disruptions were much less in the following days.
“It only takes one or two sick calls to create something like this at a facility that is so understaffed,” says Mick Devine, executive vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union representing many air traffic controllers. “The issues that we’ve been warning everyone about for years, people now understand what it really means.”
Why we wrote this
Delays resurfaced at several airports this week due to the shortage of air traffic controllers. The current shutdown could have a larger effect on the FAA’s attempt to hire enough workers to fully staff the nation’s airports.
From Friday, air traffic controllers will work for free. The focus on air travel following the government shutdown highlights the vulnerabilities created by minimal staffing. And as the FAA attempts to fill that gap, it faces a potential obstacle: The shutdown could delay recruiting and training efforts.
Does the closure affect flights?
During a shutdown, all operational air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and must report to work. Some support staff, such as finance managers and IT specialists, are being furloughed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference Monday that there has been a slight increase in the number of controllers calling in sick since the shutdown began. He said Americans could experience more delays during the shutdown, adding that air traffic controllers could face additional pressure.
“Now what [controllers] think about how they control our airspace is… Should I take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from an already stressful job to think about how I can make extra money because the government might not provide me a salary? » said Secretary Duffy.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has released a new pop-up on its website urging its members not to engage in coordinated efforts that could disrupt air travel.
On Monday, as the Burbank Tower was closed for hours and other airports experienced staff shortages, more than 6,000 flights were delayed.
Mr. Devine does not believe the delays are caused by “sick leave.” He says tower closures like the one at Burbank Airport have happened more than 100 times this year in various locations — the result of a strained system that’s already operating at limited capacity.
“It wasn’t affected by the shutdown, it wasn’t caused by the shutdown, it was just highlighted by the shutdown,” he said.
Air traffic controllers will receive partial pay on Oct. 14, but will not receive money on subsequent paydays if the shutdown continues. A new draft memo from the White House says federal workers are not guaranteed back pay for their forced leave (or unpaid work) during a shutdown, despite a 2019 law designed to ensure back pay is paid. Historically, federal workers have always received compensation at the end of a government shutdown.
What are the long-standing problems related to shortages?
A CBS News analysis of FAA data in January found that more than 90% of air traffic control towers were understaffed compared to a goal set by the agency, and more than 40% did not meet a minimum agency standard.
The federal government has been trying to close this gap for several years. In 2024, under the Biden administration, the FAA added 1,811 new recruits, the largest number in nearly a decade. On September 23, Mr. Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation had surpassed that number with 2,026 new controllers, surpassing its hiring goals for fiscal year 2025.
The FAA has said it plans to hire 8,900 air traffic controllers by the end of 2028. But it also expects to lose 6,872 workers to retirements and other reasons, which would leave it short of the 3,000 air traffic controllers needed to staff all of the nation’s airports.
Michael McCormick, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a certified control tower operator, says the pandemic and other government shutdowns are leading to staffing shortages.
COVID-19 disrupted the training and hiring process and, he said, led to a wave of early retirements due to an uncertain work environment.
Government shutdowns have a similar effect. Typically, the FAA has frozen recruiting and training for air traffic controllers during shutdowns. All controllers go through an academy in Oklahoma City. The academy can only train a certain number of people each year, and it often takes several years before trainees can earn certification. So if a closure causes a group of recruits to miss training, the effects can be felt years later.
“The 2018-2019 shutdown is one of the main reasons we find ourselves in the scenario we find ourselves in today,” Devine says, referring to training disruptions.
During the current closure, the training center is operating on emergency funding which will last for 30 days.
But if that funding runs out, Mr. Devine warns, “we’ll probably end up with an even worse staff in 3 or 4 years than we have today.”
How did travel delays affect the latest shutdown?
On January 25, 2019, a few air traffic controllers calling in sick caused delays at airports in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. The same day, President Donald Trump ended a 35-day federal shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Both Democrats and Republicans had expressed concern that the shutdown was putting too much pressure on airports.
Now each side links the recent delays to the closure and blames each other.
“Thank you, @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. – 10 p.m. today due to YOUR government shutdown,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X on Monday.
“The reason we are closed is because YOUR party cannot clearly define its priorities,” Secretary Duffy responded.
Dr. McCormick hopes the shutdown can help shine a light on the real people in the airline industry who are affected.
“[Our air traffic controllers] they work hard, they are dedicated, they are professional. But at the end of the day, they’re human,” he says. “And when policymakers then have the opportunity to see them for who they are – people – and the impact that has on them, I think that’s motivation to come together and reopen government.”
