An estimated 150 flights were cancelled out of Southern California airports over the weekend and that number continued to climb on Monday as flight delays and cancellations imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday leaves travelers scrambling or stranded.
According to FlightAware some 10,000 flights nationwide were cancelled over the weekend and all of the Southland’s airports were hit with delays and cancellation. The ongoing chaos of cancellations and flight delays has been exacerbated by staffing issues as some air-traffic controllers skip work since they aren’t being paid during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Controllers are considered essential workers and have been instructed to continue working despite the shutdown. But after going without paychecks for nearly a month, some have taken second jobs or are calling in sick, compounding existing staffing shortages, National Air Traffic Controllers Association officials told reporters.
Federal transportation officials said this has led to “staffing triggers” at air traffic facilities nationally, leading to “strain on the system.” To combat the shortages and avoid safety issues, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that capacity would be reduced at 40 high-volume airports through at least Friday.
According to a Department of Transportation statement issued Thursday night, flight capacity at the affected airports would be cut by 4 percent through Monday, 6 percent on Tuesday, 8 percent Thursday and 10 percent by next Friday. As of this Monday morning, FlightAware posted 1,799 flights cancelled nationwide.
As of 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 295 flights had been delayed at Los Angeles International Airport and another 80 had been canceled, according to the tracking website FlightAware. Hollywood Burbank Airport had 56 flights delayed and 13 canceled, and John Wayne Airport in Orange County had 51 delays and 16 cancellations, according to FlightAware. Long Beach Airport had 44 delays and four cancellations.
As of Monday morning the website said 8,651 flights were delayed nationwide and 2,954 were canceled Sunday. In addition to capacity reductions, the Federal Aviation Administration is also limiting commercial space launches and re-entries to the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time.
Parachute operations and photo missions near affected airports were also being prohibited.
Airports in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ontario are among those impacted by the capacity cuts, but airfields not among the 40 on the list could still see ripple-effect impacts on flight operations. LAX is the busiest airfield in California and among the top five in the nation.
“My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety,” Duffy said Thursday night. “This isn’t about politics — it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay. It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking.”
Airlines have been issuing alerts to passengers to be aware of possible flight impacts.