FAA delaying flights as government shutdown enters Day 31

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday delayed flights at airports in Austin, Newark and Nashville as air traffic control staffing problems continue to snarl flights and a government shutdown hits its 31st day. At least nine FAA facilities were facing staffing issues on Friday and the agency said it was likely to delay flights later at Houston and Dallas airports. Flight delays were averaging 61 minutes at Nashville, 50 minutes at Austin and 101 minutes at Newark. FlightAware, an aviation tracking site, said 2,200 U.S. flights had been delayed and 300 canceled as of 12:30 p.m. ET. There were 7,300 U.S. flight delays and 1,250 flights canceled on Thursday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Friday he expects more flight delays in the coming days "Coming into this weekend and then the week after, I think you are going to see even more disruptions in the airspace," Duffy said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." On Thursday, air traffic control staffing shortages snarled flights at Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay. Delta Air Lines, United, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines all called on Congress to quickly pass a stop-gap funding bill to let the government reopen and discussions continue over healthcare policy disputes. The shutdown has led to flight delays due to air traffic controller absences and impacted thousands of flights, the Transportation Department said. Airlines have repeatedly urged an end to the shutdown, citing aviation safety risks. The shutdown has exacerbated pre-existing staffing shortages, threatening to cause widespread disruptions similar to those that helped end a 35-day government shutdown in 2019.  The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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