(The Epoch Times)—More than 5,600 flights across the United States were delayed on Oct. 27 primarily due to air traffic controller staffing shortages, as the federal government shutdown entered its fourth week.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said ground delay programs were put in place at major airports like Newark Airport in New Jersey, Austin Airport in Texas, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Flights in the southeast have also experienced delays due to significant staffing shortages at the Atlanta Terminal Radar Approach Control, which oversees much of the region’s air traffic, according to the FAA.
The agency cited air traffic controller absences as the main factor behind the delays. A day earlier, on Oct. 26, more than 8,800 flights were delayed nationwide.
Flight delays rippled through U.S. airports, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which issued a ground stop on Oct. 26 that lasted nearly two hours for flights departing to and from the Bay Area.
In New Jersey, Newark Liberty International Airport faced a ground delay of more than two hours due to staffing issues.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Oct. 26 that about 13,000 air traffic controllers are going to be unpaid starting Oct. 28 due to the government shutdown.
“On Tuesday, 13,000 air traffic controllers will get a $0 paycheck because Democrats are holding the government hostage,” Duffy stated on X. “The fact that they are having to think about how to put food on the table is UNACCEPTABLE.”
The government shutdown entered its 27th day on Oct. 27, as efforts to resolve the impasse failed. The Senate on Oct. 22 again rejected a Republican-backed stopgap funding measure, which failed to secure the 60 votes required for passage. It was the 12th time a Senate vote on the plan failed.
Lawmakers from both parties have traded blame over responsibility for the government shutdown. Republicans blamed the Democrats for the lapse in federal funding, accusing them of hindering efforts to pass a “clean” resolution with no policy additions.
Democrats said that Republicans triggered the shutdown by refusing to negotiate over their proposals for health care funding, which include the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that are set to expire on Dec. 31.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), representing over 800,000 federal workers, has suggested that Congress should reopen the government through “a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues.”
“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” Kelley stated on Oct. 27. “Today I’m making mine: it’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today.”
Jacki Thrapp and Reuters contributed to this report.
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