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Travelers across the United States are bracing for growing delays as airport staffing shortages continue to worsen during the ongoing government closure, now entering its seventh day.

Escalating Worries Over Aviation System

Labor leaders for air traffic controllers and TSA agents have cautioned that the circumstances is likely to deteriorate, with staffing challenges reported at multiple major airports including facilities in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville and Philadelphia.

"The potential of wider impacts to the US aviation system is growing by the day," commented travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt.

He expressed serious worry that if the shutdown continues, it could potentially disrupt millions of Americans' holiday travel arrangements in November.

Travel Disruptions and Operational Issues

Staffing shortages, featuring an elevated number of workers taking sick leave, affected key facilities around New York, Los Angeles and Denver on Monday, causing postponements affecting more than 6,000 flights across the country.

• The Burbank facility's air traffic control was briefly shut down and responsibilities were managed by a different location
• The Nashville facility experienced delays of approximately two hours due to staffing issues
• O'Hare Airport in Chicago showed typical postponements of 41 minutes
• Dallas-Fort Worth had delays logged at half an hour

Industry Response and Labor Stance

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association stressed that it does not support any coordinated activities that could negatively affect the National Airspace System.

The union clarified that air traffic controllers take their responsibility to ensure passenger security extremely earnestly and participating in any job action could result in removal from federal service.

Government Perspective

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the country's air traffic control system is being harmed from the continuing federal closure.

"They aren't only thinking about the flight paths," he remarked regarding air traffic controllers who are not receiving salaries. "They're concerned about, 'Am I going to get a salary'?"

The official observed that many operators depend on regular income and cannot afford prolonged durations without compensation.

Broader Implications

According to contingency planning, approximately 25% of the employees, or more than 11,000 aviation administration workers, were temporarily laid off when the closure started last week.

Nevertheless, 13,000 air traffic controllers remain on duty, with recruitment and instruction also ongoing.

Union president Nick Daniels pointed out that the shutdown has highlighted preexisting issues encountered by flight controllers, including workforce gaps and aging technology.

He clarified that the situation is particularly grave at regional facilities where limited staffing creates further difficulties.

Despite the extensive postponements, flight data indicated that approximately 92% of departures from American airports departed as scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration had not activated a "workforce threshold" that would reduce the flight volume in and out of airports, indicating that operations were continuing despite the challenges.