Would you show up for work if the federal government deemed your job essential but didn’t pay you? I know I wouldn’t. Federal Aviation Administration air traffic facilities filed 98 “staffing trigger” reports over the Halloween weekend between Friday and Sunday. A “staffing trigger” means that there weren’t enough controllers on duty to safely maintain the facility’s assigned airspace. This far into the government shutdown, air traffic controllers have begun calling in sick to work other jobs, such as driving for Uber.
The FAA was short-staffed at the airport towers that manage approaches and takeoffs, as well as remote centers that handle traffic between airports at altitude. According to CNN, the staffing situation improved as the weekend went on. There were 46 impacted facilities on Friday. The figure became 34 on Saturday, then dropped to 18 on Sunday. While controllers can delay flights and take other measures to reduce their workload, an incident in Boston on Thursday underscored the importance of having fully staffed facilities. A Delta Air Lines flight arriving from Paris was forced to go around after coming within a half-mile of a Cape Air Cessna 402C taking off for Bar Harbor Airport in Maine.
Newark is still in deep trouble
To no one’s surprise, Newark Liberty International Airport had more “staffing trigger” reports than any other airport. Things were much brighter at the area’s other airports on the other side of the Hudson, John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia. According to the FAA, 80% of air traffic controllers working at New York-area facilities were absent. The agency posted on social media, “The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”
Newark was nearly the site of an air traffic control doomsday scenario in May. The airport teetered on the brink of a zero ATC event, where there was no controller in the tower. A single controller managed air traffic for three hours within a system intended to function properly with 15 employees. The incident took place when the federal government was still paying people to work. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the country’s air traffic control system is about to be under its most significant strain of the year. If the shutdown continues, I’d probably reconsider flying for the holidays.
