Travelers across the US are facing mounting flight delays on Thursday, with multiple major airports reporting departures running behind schedule.
The disruption, affecting New York to California and Florida, has been attributed to a variety of issues, including runway congestion, low clouds as well as the ongoing government shutdown.
LaGuardia Airport is averaging 45-minute delays, while Philadelphia International is experiencing 15-minute waits, both attributed to ‘compacted demand.’
This occurs when too many flights attempt to depart in the same window, forcing controllers to space them out for safety.
Miami International Airport is averaging 15-minute delays due to traffic management initiatives, which are designed to keep a distance between flights through congested airspace.
Newark Liberty International is seeing similar 15-minute delays caused by ‘multi-taxi’ congestion, which happens when multiple aircraft try to use the same taxiways and runways at the same time.
Departures to San Francisco International Airport are also being delayed by an average of 38 minutes from 11:30am to 6:59pm ET due to clouds covering more than half the sky.
According to the FAA, peak scheduling, earlier delays and ripple effects from nearby airports can all contribute to these crowded departure times.
Multiple airports from New York to California are experiencing flight delays. LaGuardia Airport is averaging 30-minute delays (pictured is the airport in 2023)
LaGuardia (LGA) is operating with arrivals on Runway 31 using RNAV procedures and departures from Runway 04, with an arrival capacity of 37 planes per hour under current conditions.
Some flyers at the airport have expressed frustrations about sitting on the tarmac amid delays on X, with one user saying: ‘This plane is a prison.’
Departures from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport are experiencing average delays of 15 minutes and are increasing due to heavy taxiway congestion.
Orlando International Airport (MCO) was added to the FAA list around 11:36am, citing delays up to 30 minutes (and increasing) due to traffic management initiatives.
The alert noted that the airport is currently operating with arrivals on Runways 36R and 35R and departures on Runways 36R and 35L, with an arrival capacity of 65 planes per hour under the current configuration.
Arrivals at Boston Logan International Airport are being delayed from 1:00 PM to 7:59pm, due to runway and taxiway construction, with an average delay of 48 minutes and a maximum delay of 132 minutes.
Thursday’s travel chaos comes as many US airports have been disrupted in the past few days due to air control staff calling in sick during the government shutdown.
On Tuesday, Nashville International Airport’s (BNA) air control tower went dark for five hours because there was no one available to direct planes.
According to the FAA’s website, the ground delay had backed flights up by more than two hours at the airport.
The delays range from 15 to 30 minutes, but the FAA noted many are expected to climb throughout the day
BNA noted that the FAA told officials this reduction in manpower would ‘remain in effect until further notice.’
A dozen facilities saw staffing shortages on Monday, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed that many air traffic control workers were calling in sick.
‘If we see there are issues in the tower that are affecting controllers’ ability to effectively control the airspace, we’ll reduce the rate, and you’ll see more delays or you might see a cancellation,’ Duffy said.
Chicago’s O’Hare International airport also endured a travel nightmare on Tuesday due to the government shutdown, which started at 7pm ET and ran until midnight.
O’Hare is one of the busiest airports in the US and the world, handling more than 80 million passengers annually and thousands of flights daily.
Despite the traffic snags, about 92 percent of the more than 23,600 flights departing from US airports as of Tuesday afternoon took off on time, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The FAA, on Monday, was forced to alert travelers that air traffic control towers at Hollywood Burbank Airport would be unmanned until at least 10pm local time.
California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed the lack of staffing on the government shutdown and hammered Trump on X.
‘Thanks, @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15pm to 10pm today because of YOUR government shutdown,’ the California governor wrote.
The White House, when asked for comment by The Daily Mail, sent an automatic reply putting responsibility for the shutdown on Democrats.
‘Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays,’ it read.
‘As you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open.’
