FAA lifts partial ground stop at New York's LaGuardia Airport
Delays reported at Newark and Philadelphia airports due to air traffic control staff shortages; David Lee Miller reports from LaGuardia.
Airlines including American and United are urging politicians to end the ongoing partial government shutdown amid reports of staffing issues causing delays at airports across the East Coast on Friday morning.
Days earlier, three of the largest unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants – specifically, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Association of Flight Attendants – had also expressed concern for the safety of staff and passengers due to the shutdown.
In a statement to Fox News issued on Friday, United Airlines admitted that the carrier wasn’t expecting significant service interruptions, but called for the government to reopen regardless.
“We’re working closely with FAA and airport officials to try to minimize the impact on our operations and, most importantly, on our customers. At this point, we don’t anticipate significant schedule disruptions, but it is another good illustration of the escalating impact of the government shutdown and the need for the federal government to promptly re-open,” the airline stated.
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American, too, said it had not seen “significant impacts,” but warned of the situation escalating.
“We haven’t experienced significant impacts to our operation or schedule at this point, but continue to monitor and are working closely with the FAA,” the airline said in an emailed statement to Fox News.
“Our goal is to minimize disruptions for our customers and our team members taking care of our customers. In this spirit, we urge that the federal government be re-opened before shutdown impacts begin to escalate.”
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Delta, meanwhile, has confirmed that its operations along the East Coast were majorly impacted by Friday’s staffing shortages, reporting more than 200 flights experiencing delays “due to the FAA’s Ground Delay Program.”
"Delta is working to reaccommodate customers to their destinations and encourages customers traveling on Friday to check delta.com or the Fly Delta App for their current flight status."
In the wake of the FAA’s program – which largely affected New York’s LaGuardia Airport, as well as Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Reagan National in D.C. – the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents just under 50,000 employees, urged the government, and Mitch McConnell, specifically, to end the ongoing shutdown.
"This is exactly what AFA and other aviation unions have been warning would happen. The aviation system depends on the safety professionals who make it run. They have been doing unbelievably heroic work even as they are betrayed by the government that employs them. They are fatigued, worried, and distracted — but they won't risk our safety. So the planes will stay on the ground. This is anything but a sick out — it is only about our safety and the air traffic controllers' absolute commitment to it," the AFA said in its statement.
"Do we have your attention now, Leader McConnell? All lawmakers? Open the government and then get back to the business of democracy to discuss whatever issue you so choose. This shutdown must end immediately. Our country's entire economy is on the line."
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The FAA's news comes just two days after unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants expressed their "growing concern."
“This is already the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States and there is no end in sight,” the unions wrote in a joint statement issued Wednesday. “In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break.
“It is unprecedented,” they added.
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