Orlando International Airport saw delays of more than two hours Thursday night due to staffing shortages. This eventually led to the halting of arrivals.
Those delays eased but continued Friday, with 173 delays as of 4 p.m. and 21 flights already canceled.
Employees with Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration have been impacted by the ongoing shutdown.
Union representatives for those workers say their jobs are pivotal to make sure travelers can get from and to their destination safely.
The problem is that when there’s not enough of them doing the job, airports will have to reduce the number of workers on the clock. And that trickle down into the delays.
“At the end of the day, our business is safety, and we’re going to keep it safe. But the impacts to the flying public will be delays,” said Douglas Lowe, regional vice president of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists.
More than 150,000 people fly in and out of Orlando International Airport every day. But that number tends to climb as the holiday season approaches.
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