While the government shutdown continues in the United States, air traffic in that country continues to be affected and more than two thousand flights have been cancelled. Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transportation, warned that if the closure continues, the situation will worsen dramatically.
By Armando Hernandez
Los Angeles, November 9 (La Opinion).- The interruption of the flights nationwide was extended until Sunday after the cancellations or delays of thousands of flights on Saturday, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limited capacity at 40 major airports in United States (EU) in the middle of government shutdown longest in the country’s history.
According to the website of FlightAware, More than 2,200 flights were canceled throughout the country, while the FAA was dealing with persistent staffing problems at air traffic control towers and centers. Some 7,500 flights were also delayed
Delta Airlines had the most cancellations on Sunday, with more than 500 flights canceled and the airport with the most cancellations was Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, the busiest hub in the US, with more than 570, followed by Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, with at least 265.
Amid the chaos, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the situation “could get worse” if the closure continues, amid FAA flight cuts and after 81 staff vacancies across the national airspace in a single day.
“The two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel drop dramatically,” Duffy said Sunday. He added that if the government shutdown continues, many people hoping to return home for the holidays “won’t be able to get on a plane, because there won’t be as many flights if this doesn’t reopen.”
Eighteen of Atlanta International Airport’s 22 air traffic controllers did not report to work on Sunday, according to Duffy, who told Tapper that several controllers “are making decisions to feed their families” rather than continuing to perform their government duties.
“I want them to come to work,” he said. “The problem is that they are facing real economic problems. The answer is to vote to reopen the government and then have your debates, have your conversation. I think that is the best way, the best approach, to get America working again.”