A staffing shortage at Los Angeles International Airport prompted a temporary ground stop affecting flights Sunday morning. The restriction began around 8:45 a.m. affecting departing flights for Oakland and was lifted at 10:30 a.m. with a possibility of being extended until 2 p.m., according to an FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisory. Even after the resumption of flights, travelers were instructed to check the status of their flights.
A string of disruptive weather conditions has forced a ground delay at San Francisco International Airport on the tail end of the holiday weekend. Beginning at 10:45 a.m. Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration enacted a ground stop at SFO caused by low-ceiling clouds. SFO is "dealing with some southwesterly winds which can be impactful as well, but the ground stop is due to low ceilings, so, with that, we are expecting that to persist," National Weather Service forecaster Dalton Behringer told SFGATE.
Departures to LaGuardia (LGA) Airport in New York are experiencing an average delay of over two hours, with some flights being held for nearly four hours. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that there is up to a 60 percent chance that these delays will be extended. The alert is due to heavy rains and strong winds from the nor' easter hitting the East Coast.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said 53% of flight delays in the US are being caused by staffing issues. That's compared to around 5% before the government shutdown, which began last week. Airports around the US have seen delays as more air traffic controllers call in sick.
The FAA anticipates that the airport's air traffic control tower will be without staff until 10 p.m. Monday, according to spokesperson Kristen Alsop. The tower was without staff starting at 4:15 p.m. Due to the government shutdown, air traffic controllers are working without pay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that the FAA was seeing a small uptick in air traffic control workers calling in sick during the shutdown.
'This is a widespread issue affecting multiple departure facilities across the country,' the FAA said, noting that other airports in the network, ranging from ZLA in Los Angeles to ZMP in Minneapolis, are included in the affected routing.
Flights are currently delayed at two New York City area airports on Thursday, according to the FAA. JFK customers face delays of up to 30 minutes for departures, and inbound flights are delayed an average of 2 hours.
