Flight cancellations, delays worsen as shutdown drags on
NEW YORK—The pain Americans are facing at airports across the country is expected to get worse this week if Congress is unable to reach a deal to reopen the federal government.
US airlines canceled more than 1,500 flights on Saturday and more than 2,900 on Sunday to comply with a Federal Aviation Administration order to reduce traffic as some air traffic controllers, who have gone unpaid for nearly a month, have stopped showing up for work.
As of early Monday, airlines had already canceled nearly 1,600 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday.
The Senate took a first step toward ending the shutdown on Sunday, but final passage could still be several days away and experts have said it will take time for flights to go back to normal even after the government reopens.
Many airports are facing significant delays for flights that haven’t been canceled as well, with airports in Newark, Orlando, Chicago and Detroit all facing departure delays of more than an hour and increasing, according to FlightAware.
This is the second pay period that air traffic controllers have not received any pay. Union head Nick Daniels will hold a press conference on Monday morning to address the impact the shutdown is having on them.
