U.S. warns air traffic controllers could be dismissed as shutdown delays mount

The U.S. government has warned that air traffic controllers who repeatedly fail to report for duty during the shutdown could be fired, amid rising flight delays across the country.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Thursday that a small number of absent air traffic controllers were contributing to significant disruption and could face dismissal if they fail to return to work.

“If we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’re going to let them go,” Duffy told Fox Business, citing a “small subset” of workers causing widespread delays.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported staffing shortages for a fourth consecutive day, with issues affecting operations in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, Roanoke and central Florida.

Flight tracking site FlightAware said nearly 21,000 flights had been delayed since Monday, including more than 6,300 on Thursday alone. American Airlines saw around 850 delays — about a quarter of its daily schedule — while Southwest Airlines reported 1,300 delays, or 30% of its flights.

Duffy praised the 90% to 95% of controllers who continue working unpaid during the nine-day-old government shutdown.

“It’s a small fraction of people who don’t come to work that can create this massive disruption,” he said.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association responded that procedures were already in place to address any misuse of sick leave, and reiterated that participating in any form of job action is illegal and could result in termination.

The FAA is currently operating with about 3,500 fewer controllers than its target staffing levels, according to the agency. Many have been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even prior to the shutdown.

Historically, staffing issues account for around 5% of flight delays, but that figure has surged to 53% in recent days, Duffy said.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey on Thursday urged airlines to expedite consumer refunds without “unnecessary and difficult hoops,” although carriers are not obliged to cover hotel or meal costs for FAA-related delays.

Controller shortages during this shutdown are emerging earlier than during the previous major U.S. government closure in 2019, when prolonged unpaid periods led to widespread staff absences and delays, particularly in New York.

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