The government shutdown is chaos for the entire system, and not even airports are spared, they are suffering more than anyone. Endless lines, delays, and wait times of up to three hours in some airports…
This shutdown has lasted for more than a month, and it’s hard to believe. Thousands of federal employees (including TSA agents and air traffic controllers) are still working without getting paid a single dollar. And of course, when you’re not getting paid, not many people feel like working. All of this translates into chaos just as the country’s airports enter the busy travel season.
Houston, we have a problem.
In Houston (Texas), the situation has become so unbearable that George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) warned passengers they could expect up to three-hour waits just to get through security, and only two terminals are operational…
At William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), lines also exceed an hour. Agents are exhausted and working without pay!! Local authorities have asked travelers for understanding and reminded them that staff are not being paid due to the lack of federal funds, so it’s normal that tensions are running high.
“We appreciate passengers’ patience and ask that they arrive early” Houston Airports posted on its Twitter account. “We are doing everything possible to maintain safety and passenger flow while the Government remains closed”.
The chaos spreads
The shutdown is affecting the entire country. In the north, at Newark (New Jersey), one of the busiest airports in the nation, passengers report long delays and that the control tower is operating with minimal staff (which means incoming flights could be completely blocked).
In New York, the Office of Emergency Management warned that both JFK and LaGuardia could also be affected at any moment.
Thousands of flights affected
According to FlightAware, as of November 2 there had already been more than 5,600 delayed flights and 244 cancellations across the United States, and the shutdown continues…
The most affected cities are Houston, Newark, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Los Angeles, and Miami.
And while not all delays are directly caused by the shutdown, the lack of agents and controllers is already one of the main reasons for the collapse.
“We can’t punish people who are working without pay”
Duffy made it clear that there will be no penalties for controllers who cannot show up to work, since it’s unfair to ask workers to choose between feeding their families or working without pay, they need support, not threats. And they need the shutdown to end.
But even before the shutdown, the FAA was already facing a shortage of air traffic controllers, so the current crisis has only made things worse.
The perfect storm
As if things weren’t bad enough, the government shutdown coincided with Hurricane Melissa, and you’ve seen the images from Jamaica and the Caribbean… Airlines like American Airlines and Delta had to cancel entire routes until the hurricane passed, and of course, all of that has added to the chaos caused by the shutdown.
An urgent call to Congress
The FAA and the Department of Transportation have urged Congress to end the shutdown immediately, because the country is approaching a point of logistical collapse.
Kilometer-long lines, air traffic controllers and federal employees without pay… the impact of politics is everywhere, and this shutdown is leaving workers increasingly frustrated…
Until Congress reaches an agreement, millions of passengers will remain trapped (literally) in the middle of a political dispute.