FAA to reduce traffic at 40 airports
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Flight delays linked to the ongoing federal government shutdown continue, with this past weekend marking the worst for air traffic control staffing shortages since the shutdown began, according to a CNN analysis of Federal Aviation Administration operations plans.
Air traffic controllers are coping with grueling six-day workweeks, mandatory overtime and chronic understaffing — all while working without pay.
At least two Canadian airports, in Kelowna, B.C., and Winnipeg, are so short of air traffic controllers (ATCs) that they have had to occasionally shut down their towers. Air Canada has gone so far as to tell its pilots “not to operate into these airports during short term ATC staffing shortage closures.”
Secretary Duffy said there will be a 10% reduction in airspace capacity at 40 locations across the country as staffing shortages strain the FAA amid the longest government shutdown in history.