Delays have arrived at America's airports thanks to the government shutdown. Air traffic controllers are among the 420,000 government employees who have been forced to work unpaid for five weeks, leading them to call in sick and even quit en masse. That shortage forced the Federal Aviation Administration to halt flights into New York City's LaGuardia airport Friday, and caused delays at airports nationwide, Bloomberg reports. Philadelphia and Newark International Airports were specifically cited as having delays, per CNN, and Bloomberg noted delays in Washington, D.C. and Jacksonville, Florida. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) quickly responded to the LaGuardia shutdown by sending a letter to President Trump urging him to reopen the government. The Transportation Security Administration has also long been facing staffing shortages as TSA employees are forced to work without pay amid the shutdown, though staffers were told Friday they'd receive partial pay, CNBC says. Flight disruption is speculated to be the last straw that forces lawmakers and President Trump to pass a government funding bill.<doc-sep>The Federal Aviation Administration halted some incoming flights into New York City's LaGuardia Airport on Friday morning due to air traffic control staffing issues, and delays are also being reported at airports including Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International, among others. UNIONS REPRESENTING AIRLINE, AIRPORT WORKERS EXPRESS 'GROWING CONCERN' AMID SHUTDOWN "We have experienced a slight increase in sick leave at two facilities," an FAA shared in a statement posted to Twitter, and shared with Fox News. "We’ve mitigated the impact by augmenting staffing, rerouting traffic, and increasing spacing between aircraft when needed. The results have been minimal impacts to efficiency while maintaining consistent levels of safety in the national airspace system. "The public can monitor air traffic at fly.faa.gov and they should check with airline carriers for more information." A statement obtained by CBS New York suggests those two facilities as being in Florida and New York. "As with severe storms, we will adjust operations to a safe rate to match available controller resources,” reads an FAA statement obtained by the outlet. BETHENNY FRANKEL SLAMS AIRLINES FOLLOWING ALLERGY SCARE In addition to LaGuardia, which confirmed "major delays," flights are also being delayed at Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty International, and Reagan National in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg reported. Some passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport were also asked to deboard a flight by the airline, which had cited staffing shortages, according to a traveler on Twitter. A ground stop at LaGuardia, which has since been lifted, was issued Friday morning just before 10 a.m., according to NBC New York. Delta, which counts LaGuardia as one of its major hubs, confirmed to Fox News that over 200 flights were experiencing delays across affected airports. "As of Friday morning, Delta is experiencing about 200 flight delays at New York’s LaGuardia Airport as well as other airports in the Northeast region 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." United Airlines, too, released a statement confirming that the airline is "working closely with FAA and airport officials to try to minimize the impact on our operations and, most importantly, on our customers," the carrier said in an emailed statement to Fox News. "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.” FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed Friday morning that President Trump has been made aware of the issues. “The President has been briefed and we are monitoring the ongoing delays at some airports. We are in regular contact with officials at the Department of Transportation and the FAA," Sanders stated. In response to Friday's delays, 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. "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." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The FAA's news comes just two days after unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants expressed their "growing concern" for safety amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. “This is already the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States and there is no end in sight,” the unions — which included the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), along with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA — 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. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.<doc-sep>Traveling into and out of New York City’s LaGuardia Airport regularly has likely contributed to my unwelcome discovery of gray hair strands at the tender age of 22. I frequently lament the fact that both American and international tourists who have likely waited their entire lives to visit New York City have to enter via the cesspit, with only the Manhattan skyline within eyesight as a promise that you didn’t accidentally buy a ticket to a third-world country that just underwent a civil war that choked off funding to the maintenance of its infrastructure. This morning, the FAA halted flights into LaGuardia because of the insufficient number of staff due to the government shutdown. Too many workers were calling off sick, and later, the FAA began to augment staff, reroute traffic, and increase spacing between aircraft, warning passengers and the public that there will be major delays. If you’ve never traveled through LaGuardia on a regular day, I consider Joe Biden’s review of it from a 2014 speech about American infrastructure to be evergreen: Biden said that if one blindfolded a person and took them to Hong Kong’s airport and asked where they were, they would reply: “This must be America, it’s a modern airport.” On the other hand, he said, “if I took you and blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you must think, ‘I must be in some third world country.’” In October 2017, I swimmingly traveled through Beirut’s airport despite there being concrete barriers throughout the city that were still riddled with bullets from past conflict and electricity lasting for four-hour intervals throughout the day in Lebanese homes. But if I blindfolded you and took you to Beirut’s airport, you’d think you’re in a country whose last civil war ended in 1865. If Joe Biden blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia, you’d likely agree with him. With today’s average delays lasting 86 minutes, one might ask: What changed?<doc-sep>
The FAA says it is temporarily halting flights into New York's LaGuardia airport due to air traffic control staffing issues as a government shutdown extends into its second month. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a halt to arriving flights into New York's LaGuardia airport after air traffic control staffing issues from the government shutdown forced the temporary closure. The halt stemmed from a shortage of workers at an air traffic control center in Washington. Flights at Washington's Reagan National, Newark's Liberty International and Philadelphia's International airport also were delayed on Friday. The FAA is advising travelers to New York to check with their departure airport. Departures from Newark and Philadelphia are experiencing taxi delays of greater than 45 minutes, while arrivals are "experiencing airborne holding delays" greater than 45 minutes, according to an FAA website. Arriving flights into LaGuardia are currently delayed an average of one hour, 26 minutes, according to the FAA website. Unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants have warned that the shutdown has created safety concerns for the nation's air travel system. Like many other federal employees, the controllers have been working without pay for more than a month. "The President has been briefed and we are monitoring the ongoing delays at some airports,'' said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. "We are in regular contact with officials at the Department of Transportation and the FAA." JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) - Get Report CEO Robin Hayes said on Thursday that the U.S. aviation system was nearing a "tipping point" due to the partial government shutdown, which is in its 35th day. On a conference call with investors, Hayes said the shutdown may cause delays, long lines and cancelled flights. The stock declined 0.8% on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) - Get Report has lost $10 million to $15 million this month due the partial government shutdown, the company said Thursday. Taken in context, the losses aren't large. Southwest reported $5.7 billion in revenue in the last three months of the year, slightly beating expectations. Shares of the low-cost airline were up 1% on Friday. Southwest also said it has had to delay plans to start service from California to Hawaii because federal safety approvals are on hold. "Our remaining work is currently suspended until the government reopens and the FAA is allowed to resume normal certification activities," Southwest said in its earnings release Thursday. "We are anxious for the government to resolve this shutdown so we can bring low fares and a boost to Hawaii's travel and tourism industry." Delta Air Lines (DAL) - Get Report said it likely lost about $25 million in January with fewer government employees and contractors working as the shutdown enters its second month.