Flight disruptions continued for a fourth straight day on Monday, with more than 2,000 flight cancellations and thousands of delays reported nationwide as the government shutdown strains air traffic control staffing.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns the impact could worsen ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel period. Several travelers at Ronald Regan National Airport, located right outside of D.C., are experiencing significant delays.
“We were supposed to be going from Dallas to Toronto to Vancouver, but that flight was canceled,” shared Darcy, a traveller. “So now we’re going from Reagan to Denver to Vancouver.”
The shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, has forced air traffic controllers to work long hours without pay or to call in sick. Airports, including Reagan National, were already short-staffed before the shutdown began.
The first round of cuts in flights has affected more than 40 major airports, including those in the D.C. area, and officials expect more cancellations and delays by the end of the week.
Some flights were canceled and others were delayed at Reagan National, causing many inconveniences for travelers.
“We had some delays, just even going through TSA,” said Divya Nigam, a traveler. “I have a TSA PreCheck. They had to cancel some of the security checkpoints in Dallas. Here I think, my flight now has been delayed for an hour or so.”
According to FlightAware, which tracks air travel in real-time, Reagan National reported around 340 delays and around 143 cancellations on Sunday. Nationwide, there were more than 7,000 delays and 2,200 cancellations.
Secretary Duffy says that the agency is considering an offer from the Defense Department to call up military air traffic controllers to help out in the meantime.
