Airports across the U.S. saw more flight delays Tuesday as a result of staffing shortages while the federal government shutdown continued into a seventh day, the Associated Press reports.
Union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners, meanwhile, warned that the situation could worsen.
Staffing issues at airports in Nashville, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration, which also cited problems at its air traffic control centers in Atlanta, Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
There were also flight disruptions a day earlier at airports in Burbank, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Denver. Those were also tied to insufficient staffing during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
While aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that around 92% of the more than 23,600 flights departing from U.S. airports as of Tuesday afternoon took off on time, the risk of broader impacts to the U.S. aviation system is growing as federal workers with jobs deemed critical continue to work without pay.
