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U.S. airports reported 22 incidents of aerial postulation controller shortages connected Saturday (October 25, 2025), Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, with much shortages expected to bring much formation delays and cancellations successful the days up arsenic the authorities shutdown drags on.
According to FlightAware, a formation tracking website, determination were much than 5,900 U.S. formation delays by 6 p.m.
Eastern Time (2200 GMT) connected Sunday (October 26, 2025) and much than 5,300 connected Saturday (October 25, 2025). Since the shutdown began connected October 1, delays person often been supra average.
The authorities of aerial information has been intimately watched for signs of accrued delays oregon cancellations, arsenic observers look for indications that the shutdown is making beingness harder for Americans. This, successful turn, could unit lawmakers to interruption the fund deadlock that led to the shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration connected Saturday (October 25, 2025) had 22 “triggers” that indicated shortages of aerial postulation controllers, Mr. Duffy told the Fox News “Sunday (October 26, 2025) Morning Futures” program. He called that fig “one of the highest that we’ve seen successful the system” since October 1.
“That’s a motion that the controllers are wearing thin,” Mr. Duffy said. The FAA website said crushed hold programs had been issued due to the fact that of staffing shortages connected Sunday (October 26, 2025) astatine Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Washington’s Reagan National Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
The bureau besides issued a crushed halt astatine Los Angeles International Airport connected Sunday (October 26, 2025) owed to postulation controller staffing shortages astir 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT), which was lifted aboriginal though delays continued.
The Trump medication has warned that formation disruptions volition summation arsenic controllers miss their archetypal afloat paycheck connected Tuesday (October 28, 2025).
Air postulation controllers received a paycheck 2 weeks agone astatine 90% of their regular pay. But Tuesday’s (October 28, 2025) payday would person been for their archetypal wage play solely for enactment successful October.
Controllers facing the imaginable of missing a national paycheck are looking for different sources of income, Mr. Duffy said.
“They’re taking 2nd jobs, they’re retired determination looking,” helium said.
Some 13,000 aerial postulation controllers and astir 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers indispensable enactment adjacent if they are not being paid during the shutdown.
The FAA is astir 3,500 aerial postulation controllers abbreviated of targeted staffing levels and galore had been moving mandatory overtime and six-day weeks adjacent earlier the shutdown.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the fig of absences by controllers and TSA officers roseate arsenic workers missed paychecks, extending hold times astatine immoderate airdrome cheque points. Authorities were forced to dilatory aerial postulation successful New York and Washington.
Mr. Duffy and different Republicans person criticised Democrats for opposing a “clean” short-term backing measure with nary strings attached. Democrats criticise President Donald Trump and Republicans for refusing to negociate implicit wellness attraction subsidies that expire astatine the extremity of the year.
