Burbank’s air traffic control tower was\u00a0temporarily unstaffed Monday, one of many incidents in U.S. airports caused by staffing shortages during the\u00a0government’s shutdown<\/a>.\u00a0In\u00a0an advisory, the\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration<\/a> (FAA) said flights at the Burbank airport were delayed by about two hours because of “staffing,” noting that its tower had “zero” air traffic controllers.\u00a0<\/p>\n An\u00a0FAA spokesperson told the\u00a0L.A. Times<\/a> the tower was without staff from about 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time,\u00a0and during that period, a San-Diego based air traffic control facility was controlling air traffic.<\/p>\n The government shutdown that started last week over a funding impasse<\/a>\u00a0triggered wide-ranging service disruptions and the furloughs of hundreds of thousands of civil servants.<\/p>\n CBC News has\u00a0reached out to the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) union for comment and hasn’t yet heard back. In an\u00a0automatic reply, the FAA warned it would have limited communications “due to a lapse in funding.”<\/p>\n California Gov.\u00a0Gavin Newsom<\/a>\u00a0blames\u00a0U.S. President Donald Trump for what happened in Burbank,\u00a0Trump blames<\/a>\u00a0“Democrat delays” for any flight issues, and\u00a0Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blames the shutdown<\/a> for putting more stress on already-stressed air traffic controllers.<\/p>\n But amid all the finger pointing, you might be wondering \u2014\u00a0why is this even happening? Will passenger safety be affected?\u00a0And is there an end in sight?<\/p>\n We’ll break\u00a0it down for you here.<\/p>\n First of all, was what\u00a0happened at Burbank dangerous?<\/p>\n According to CNN<\/a>, it may have seemed dramatic to have an unstaffed\u00a0air traffic control tower, but it was more of a logistical headache that\u00a0caused delays. Flights could take off and land, CNN said,\u00a0but they had to follow procedures “typically used at small airports without control towers.”\u00a0<\/p>\n TRACON, the\u00a0San-Diego based\u00a0facility, was controlling air traffic remotely, and pilots were left to communicate among themselves while taxiing to and from the runway, according to Business Insider.<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement to the L.A. Times<\/a>, NATCA\u00a0said what happened at Burbank was “the latest example of how fragile our aviation system is in the midst of a national shortage of these critical safety professionals.”<\/p>\n Air traffic controllers there resumed operations Tuesday, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n On Monday, the FAA’s chief operating officer emphasized that the air traffic control system is still safe.<\/p>\n “It is very, very safe. But we have to be on the forefront of making sure that our air traffic controllers and technicians have the very best,” said Franklin McIntosh.<\/p>\n Don’t air traffic controllers have to keep working?<\/p>\n Yes. But they’re not being paid, and the FAA has said staffing issues\u00a0are delaying flights, while Duffy has said there’s been a slight increase in controllers taking sick\u00a0leave.<\/p>\n Some 13,000\u00a0air\u00a0traffic\u00a0controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must still turn up for work during the shutdown.<\/p>\n Controllers are set to receive a partial paycheck on Oct.\u00a014 for work performed before the shutdown.<\/p>\n The union on Monday reminded workers that<\/a>\u00a0“participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service” and that doing so would be illegal.<\/p>\n “It is more important than ever that we rise to the occasion and continue delivering the consistent, high-level of public service we provide every day.<\/p>\n “We cannot stress enough that it is essential to avoid any actions that could reflect poorly on you, our union, or our professions.”<\/p>\n WATCH | Trump threatens layoffs during shutdown:\u00a0 Trump renews threat of mass federal firings amid shutdown<\/p>\n In a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump said Republicans must use the government shutdown ‘to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud,’ while also blaming the closure on Democrats in Congress. Then what’s the issue?<\/p>\n Controllers are expected to continue working without a paycheque, Duffy said, so they are now worried about how to pay their bills in addition to worrying about keeping flights safe.<\/p>\n Duffy said that at times,\u00a0air\u00a0traffic\u00a0staffing has been cut by 50 per cent\u00a0in some areas\u00a0since the shutdown started last week.<\/p>\n Duffy noted\u00a0controllers are worried. “They’re thinking about, ‘Am I going to get a paycheque?'” Duffy said, adding that some are asking themselves: “Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a job that’s already stressful?”<\/p>\n In a statement on X,<\/a> the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association (CATCA) explained that controllers working without pay puts stress on the workforce.<\/p>\n “Expect morale, retention\u00a0and absentee rates to be stressed, especially if the shutdown drags on,” CATCA wrote.<\/p>\n The shutdown also reduces supports, stalls hiring and training, and can cause operational slowdowns, the association added.<\/p>\n “To maintain safety margins, traffic levels may need to be constrained or set back. Delays and cancellations are more likely, especially in congested airspace.”<\/p>\n How is this affecting flights?<\/p>\n Staffing issues were impacting flights at numerous\u00a0airports on Monday including Newark, Phoenix, Denver,\u00a0Las Vegas\u00a0and Burbank, according to the FAA. On Tuesday, the FAA said many flights were being delayed at Nashville and Newark\u00a0airports, among others.<\/p>\n Nashville\u00a0air\u00a0traffic\u00a0control\u00a0is facing significant staffing issues and will curtail operations later on Tuesday, the FAA said. Approach\u00a0control\u00a0will be taken over later by Memphis Center, it added.<\/p>\n FlightAware said more than\u00a04,000\u00a0flights in the U.S. on Monday were delayed, including 29 per cent\u00a0arriving flights at Denver, 19 per cent\u00a0of Newark flights and 15 per cent\u00a0of Las Vegas flights. On Tuesday afternoon, there were 2,152 delays on flights\u00a0within, into, or out of the U.S., and 58 cancellations, according to the flight tracking website.<\/p>\n CATCA, the Canadian\u00a0union, noted that the ripple effects could also affect Canadian cross-border travellers.<\/p>\n “Canadian air traffic and flights flying into or near U.S. airspace may face knock-on delays or flow restrictions (e.g. ground delay programs),” CATCA wrote in its statement.<\/p>\n Could this be the breaking point?<\/p>\n There’s precedent.<\/p>\n In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by\u00a0controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers rose as workers missed paycheques, extending checkpoint wait times at some\u00a0airports.<\/p>\n You may recall that\u00a0Canadian air traffic controllers\u00a0sent pizzas to their American counterparts as a gesture of solidarity<\/a>. A union rep for NATCA told CBC’s The Current at the time that its air traffic controllers were forced to work second jobs\u00a0in between shifts where they’re responsible for the safety of\u00a0thousands of passengers.<\/p>\n Authorities were forced to slow\u00a0air\u00a0traffic\u00a0in New York, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff.<\/a>\u00a0Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said at the time the shutdown was “pushing our\u00a0airspace to the breaking point.”<\/p>\n![\"Silhouettes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/usa-shutdown.JPG\")
Air traffic controllers in Burbank on Tuesday. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must still turn up for work during the shutdown. (Daniel Cole\/Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759885088_4_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sean-duffy.jpg\")
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy arrives for a ceremony in the Pentagon courtyard on Sept. 11 in Washington. On Monday, Duffy said there have started to be instances of controllers calling out sick, leading to delays at several airports. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759885088_3_usa-shutdown.JPG\")
A commercial airliner takes off past the air traffic control tower at San Diego International Airport during the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in San Diego, Calif., on Oct. 1. (Mike Blake\/Reuters)<\/p>\n