Government shutdown hits air travel, closing a control
tower and causing delays across the country
October 7, 2025 Washington
- A pilot
preparing to take off Monday from Hollywood Burbank Airport in California
took the routine step of radioing the air traffic control tower. But
instead of the usual back-and-forth conversation of coordinating departure,
the pilot received a different response: “The tower is closed due to
staffing,” according to audio recorded by LiveATC.net. The
exchange is one example of the impact the ongoing government shutdown is having on
travelers across the US as air traffic controller staffing issues have led to
delays at major airports and forced pilots in some areas to pivot to
alternative workflows.
Controllers
are considered essential workers, so they must work during the shutdown, but
are not being paid. Twelve
Federal Aviation Administration facilities saw staffing shortages Monday
night. The control towers in Burbank, Phoenix and Denver had so called
“staffing triggers” 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. 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. 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’s request for comment. 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. “So now what they think about as they’re controlling our
airspace, is, ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car
payment?’” he said. “Do I think they’re more stressed right now in our
towers? Yes. Is our airspace unsafe? No.” During this shutdown, Duffy said, the government will do
what is necessary to keep the airspace safe. “If we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow
consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people,” he said,
foreshadowing the delays seen later in the day. The 35-day government shutdown that stretched from
December 2018 to January 2019 ended after 10 air traffic controllers stayed home, snarling air
traffic. The delays, coupled with TSA agents calling out sick causing backups
at security checkpoints, led to the end of that shutdown. Organized job actions like strikes are prohibited by federal law, 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. “If someone has to take sick leave to drive Uber to make
the difference, those are decisions they’re going to make themselves,” Duffy
said, calling for an end to the shutdown, which he blames on congressional
Democrats. “I don’t 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’re doing today, keeping
our planes in the air.” The National Air Traffic Controllers Association,
the union which represents controllers, said the problems highlight a decades
long staffing shortage. “It is normal for a few air traffic controllers to …
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,” NATCA said in a statement. “Nearly 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–all without getting paid during
this shutdown.” At least one control tower closes In Burbank Monday, the pilot who
radioed the control tower before takeoff received a message noting the
workers had gone home. “Clearence is closed, ground is
closed, local is closed. The tower is closed due to staffing, please contact
SoCal on the 800 (phone) number,” a voice on the tower frequency told a
pilot, in audio recorded by LiveATC.net. 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. The tower radio frequency became a “common traffic
advisory frequency,” which means pilots coordinate their intentions to any
other planes listening and are responsible to listen and stay clear of other
aircraft. “Burbank traffic, this is Southwest 737 (flight) 2998
departing runway 15 at Burbank,” a Southwest Airlines pilot told whoever was
listening, according to LiveATC.net. “Any other traffic please advise.” Two helicopters nearby responded and said they were not in
the way of the takeoff.
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. Small airports to lose
government flight subsidies Adding to the pain for travelers amid the shutdown is an
expiration of subsidies for flights to smaller cities. 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. The Essential Air Service program was created to ensure
smaller, rural communities are served by air carriers. The transportation
department has “exhausted every resource” to prolong the shortfall, it said
in a statement, which includes transferring unrelated funding from the FAA as
an advance. “The number one user of this air space is Alaska,” Duffy
told reporters. “You don’t have roads in Alaska. They travel by air, and a
lot of these are small communities. Alaska will be impacted, but every state
across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies
to airlines to service these communities.” Several of the airlines which operate these flights are
planning to continue for the immediate future, but if the shutdown drags on
they could stop. “We are working with each community and evaluating our
capabilities in the event of a longer-term government shutdown,” Skywest
Airlines, which is one of the largest EAS operators, said in a statement. “It
is our intent to honor our service commitments, including those under the
Federal EAS program.” Alaska Airlines operates flights to six cities under the
program. “Support from the Essential Air Service program is
necessary to maintain this vital community service,” the airline said in a
statement. “Despite this potential uncertainty, Alaska Airlines currently
plans to continue operating reliable flights as scheduled while the federal
government works to resolve the shutdown.” Undermining a safety
critical mission When the federal government shuts down, it “undermines”
the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to effectively perform its
“safety-critical” mission, a 2023 report from an
independent panel of aviation safety experts found. The National Airspace System Safety Review Team was
commissioned by the FAA to identify risks in the National Airspace System.
Its report details past shutdowns and the direct impacts on aviation. “This stop-and-start process in Congress has resulted in
the disruption of critical activities, notably including the hiring and
training of air traffic controllers,” the report read. “It has also slowed
down the implementation of key technology modernization programs, delayed
thousands of flights, and held up billions of dollars of airport
infrastructure investments. This situation makes it extremely difficult for
the FAA to effectively conduct long-term business planning and execution.” “A 24/7, 365 days/year
safety-critical operation, which supports 5.2 percent of national
Gross Domestic Product, should
never experience a lapse in appropriations or authorization, “the
report noted. |
