More than 2,200 flights were canceled in the United States this Sunday due to a shortage of air traffic controllers due to the federal government shutdown, which is now in its 40th day.
North American airlines canceled more than 2,225 flights during the day, and 7,522 flights to or from the United States suffered delays, including hundreds at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Newark Liberty Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Sunday that 15 to 20 air traffic controllers have been approving departures each day since the federal government shutdown, compared to four before the shutdown. “This will continue to impact air transport beyond the government reopening period,” he warned.
Additionally, in a statement to Fox News, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asserted that he is proposing to have backup air traffic controllers at airports. “Yesterday, I received a text message from the Secretary of the Army (as the White House refers to the Pentagon) offering that they have air traffic controllers in reserve. If we can deploy them — I don’t know if we can — we’ll need to see what airspace they’re working in,” he said.
The US Senate will meet in special session this Sunday to try to end more than a month of government shutdowns that threaten to shrink GDP in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassent.
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