More flights canceled, delayed at Atlanta’s airport amid government shutdown

by Atlanta First News staff

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - There is good reason to pack your patience if you’re traveling through Atlanta’s airport this week, but for many their patience is long gone.

Flight cancellations and delays continued Monday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport amid the government shutdown and efforts to address staffing shortages.

As of 8 p.m., FlightAware is reporting that 235 flights have been canceled and 592 have been delayed. Below is a breakdown of cancellations by airlines:

Delta & Delta Connection: 169
Frontier: 12
Southwest: 8
American & American Eagle: 3
JetBlue: 4
Spirit: 2

More than 2,300 flights were canceled nationwide Monday as the crisis deepened.

The delays and cancellations are likely to get worse as airlines are increasingly unable to reposition planes, pilots and flight attendants due to the air traffic controller shortage.

The FAA implemented a 4% mandatory reduction in flights this weekend to manage staffing. That will increase to 6% on Tuesday and to 10% by this upcoming weekend.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday” that additional flight cuts of up to 20% might be needed.

On Monday, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) held a press conference expressing the financial hardship the shutdown has caused for controllers.

“It’s now dinnertime conversations with my kids on prioritizing bills,” said Amy Lark, a long-time air traffic controller. “Yesterday, my children asked how long we will stay in our house, and to answer that question was heartbreaking.”

Nick Daniels, President of the NATCA union, said four to five controllers resigned over the weekend.

Still, many continue to show up despite having to work mandatory overtime.

“No American should ever be forced to work without a paycheck,” Daniels said during the press conference. “Even though there’s a new light at the end of the tunnel. We’ll call it that. Every single day, an air traffic controller is still facing the issues that they had yesterday.”

Daniels added: “The added stress leads to fatigue. The fatigue has led to the erosion of safety and the increased risk every day that this shutdown drags on.”

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the issue on Monday on social media, saying he will recommend a $10,000 bonus for air traffic controllers who did not take off work during the shutdown.

“Air traffic controllers should not be the political pawn during a government shutdown,” Daniels said.

Meanwhile, travelers are growing more frustrated as flights continue to come off the board.

“It’s creating a little anxiety from a business perspective to be able to get my meetings on time in Boston, and if I’ll be able to get back to Atlanta tomorrow evening,” said Chris Rice, a traveler at Hartsfield-Jackson.

“The minute I stepped off the plane in Atlanta they said, ‘We are so sorry. Your flight to Charlottesville is not only delayed, it’s gone,’” traveler Linda Hoffman said. “I will not be flying anywhere for Thanksgiving. Trust me. We will be having Thanksgiving at my home in Virginia.”

Flight reductions increase from 4% to 6% on Tuesday, so you can expect there to be many more delays and cancellations before things get better.

“Just today, we woke up with about an hour and 20 minutes of delay, which is a bummer, but we hope it doesn’t get canceled or anything like that,” traveler Dan Chiarlone said Monday.

Travel experts are encouraging passengers to check flight coverage policies, which most airlines list at the top of their websites. They recommend either delaying flight bookings or purchasing travel insurance.

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