As the Federal Aviation Administration reports growing staffing shortages among facilities nationwide, travelers arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Halloween indicated they noticed issues at other airports during their journeys.
As of Friday, the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center reports 39 different facilities, both small and large, as having “staffing triggers.”
That report increased from just nine facilities on Thursday afternoon. SeaTac was not included in that list.
The expanded report arrives as the government shutdown reached its 31st day on Friday, leaving air traffic employees without their first paychecks days earlier.
Among those with staffing triggers are Air Route Traffic Control Centers covering parts of New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta.
Reports indicate that in the New York City area, as much as 80% of workers within ARTCC positions were absent on Friday.
Other busy airports like Phoenix and Houston, which are among those facing staffing impacts, saw travelers arrive at SeaTac on Friday evening.
“They kept delaying our flight, and then they would move it back, and we kept flipping from Alaska’s app to Flight Aware, and comparing the two,” explained Carolyn Caffey, who flew with her husband from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which is one of 10 airports with Ground Delay Programs in place as of Friday.
According to the FAA, Ground Delay Programs are implemented “to control air traffic volume to airports where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport’s acceptance rate for a lengthy period of time.”
Alongside Phoenix on that list is the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
“So a flight that should have departed at 4:30 [p.m.], departed closer to 5 [p.m.],” explained Jodi Thomson, a former Seattleite who arrived from Houston on Friday for a work conference.
The three who spoke all indicated that they anticipated disruptions ahead of their flights, as news of the government shutdown has become prominent.
“I hope [it doesn’t last] much longer for the travelers, and also for the people, you know, you’re not getting paid, and you’re still coming to work, I mean bless ’em.”
Thomson stated she’s expecting there to be issues on her flight back to Houston after her conference.
“I actually booked a hotel out [next to the airport] actually, so I wouldn’t have to scramble in the morning, and I actually fly back home, and then fly back out to California within the same week. So I’m like, double duty,” she stated with a laugh.
Similarly, the Caffeys have a flight next week to go to New York City, an area that saw 214 delayed flights and 34 cancellations on Friday among the JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Airports.
After hearing news that a descending international flight at Boston Logan International Airport had a near miss with a flight taking off, Carolyn stated she still has trust in the facilities managing the skies.
“I just have to have faith that they will cancel flights if they feel as if they don’t have enough air traffic controllers. I have to have faith in that,” she stated.
Her husband indicates that the ongoing shutdown will only prove to strain the country more.
“It’s a critical part of the economy, so I think it’s the canary in the coal mine,” stated David.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport did not immediately respond to questions on Friday night about air traffic controller staffing for the airport.
The 39 facilities reporting staffing triggers on Friday representing dramatic expansion from nine facilities on Thursday demonstrating the crisis’s rapid acceleration, with the 330% increase in affected locations within 24 hours suggesting either coordinated work actions where controllers call in sick en masse or cascading system failure where shortages at some facilities create overwork conditions triggering additional absences at others.
SeaTac’s absence from the staffing trigger list providing temporary relief for Pacific Northwest travelers, though the exclusion offers little comfort given that departing Seattle flights must navigate airspace managed by understaffed facilities in destination cities creating delays and cancellations that affect local passengers regardless of SeaTac’s own controller availability.
The 31st day of government shutdown marking more than a month without pay for air traffic controllers classified as essential employees required to work despite receiving no compensation, with the extended duration exhausting savings and creating financial hardships that make continued work increasingly untenable even for dedicated professionals committed to aviation safety.
The first missed paychecks arriving days before Friday’s reporting indicating controllers had been working without compensation expectations until reality confronted them, with the actual missing deposits transforming abstract shutdown concerns into concrete financial crises requiring difficult choices between continuing unpaid work or calling in sick to seek paid employment elsewhere.
The Air Route Traffic Control Centers in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta representing the nation’s busiest airspaces, with staffing shortages at these critical facilities threatening to paralyze domestic aviation given that most flights traverse at least one of these regions during origin-to-destination routing.
The 80% ARTCC worker absence rate in New York City representing near-total staffing collapse, with such extreme shortages making safe air traffic management nearly impossible and forcing administrators to implement severe capacity restrictions that cascade throughout the national aviation system as delayed New York flights disrupt schedules at airports nationwide.
The Phoenix and Houston airports experiencing Ground Delay Programs demonstrating how staffing shortages translate into operational restrictions, with the regulatory interventions slowing arrivals to match reduced controller capacity preventing overwhelming facilities that lack personnel to safely manage normal traffic volumes.
Carolyn Caffey’s experience monitoring multiple flight tracking applications reflecting modern travelers’ information access, with Alaska Airlines and Flight Aware providing real-time updates that enable passengers to track delays as they develop rather than relying on gate agents for sporadic announcements about schedule changes.
The Ground Delay Program implementation “to control air traffic volume to airports where projected traffic demand exceeds the airport’s acceptance rate” representing bureaucratic euphemism for capacity rationing, with the FAA language obscuring that controller shortages force deliberately slowing arrival rates to prevent overwhelming facilities that would normally handle higher traffic volumes.
Jodi Thomson’s 30-minute Houston departure delay representing relatively minor disruption compared to cancellations other airports experienced, with the modest impact potentially reflecting either less severe staffing shortages at Houston facilities or earlier arrival preventing exposure to later-day delays that accumulate as shortages persist throughout operational periods.
The three travelers’ anticipation of disruptions demonstrating how government shutdown news penetrated public consciousness, with media coverage creating reasonable expectations that federal workforce actions would manifest as tangible travel inconveniences rather than remaining abstract political disputes disconnected from daily life.
Thomson’s hotel booking near the airport for her return flight representing traveler adaptation strategies, with the advance preparation enabling flexibility if delays or cancellations disrupt original itineraries requiring overnight accommodation that last-minute bookings might not provide.
The double-duty Houston-to-California-and-back travel schedule within one week demonstrating business travel demands persist despite aviation system instability, with Thomson’s professional obligations requiring flight risk-taking that leisure travelers might avoid by postponing discretionary trips until controller staffing stabilizes.
The Caffeys’ upcoming New York City trip occurring in the same region that experienced 214 delays and 34 cancellations Friday creating legitimate anxiety about whether their flight will operate, with the statistics demonstrating that even travelers who successfully reached Seattle face uncertain prospects departing to destinations experiencing severe air traffic disruptions.
The Boston Logan near-miss incident referenced by Carolyn representing the safety consequences of controller fatigue and understaffing, with the runway incursion demonstrating how stretched facilities operating with reduced personnel create conditions where preventable errors threaten catastrophic collisions that fully-staffed facilities would avoid.
Carolyn’s faith that authorities “will cancel flights if they don’t have enough air traffic controllers” reflecting confidence in aviation safety culture, though the statement also reveals anxiety that administrators might prioritize schedule reliability over safety margins if political pressure to maintain operations overrides professional judgment about adequate staffing levels.
David’s characterization of aviation as “critical part of the economy” and “canary in the coal mine” articulating how air traffic controller crisis signals broader government dysfunction, with the visible flight delays affecting millions of travelers creating political pressure that less-public federal agency shutdowns don’t generate despite equally serious impacts on essential services.
SeaTac’s non-response to staffing inquiries potentially indicating either after-hours communication gaps, deliberate avoidance of controversial questions, or genuine uncertainty about controller availability given that FAA rather than individual airports manages air traffic control personnel and facilities.
The Halloween timing creating unfortunate symbolism where holiday travel coincides with aviation system dysfunction, with families attempting to visit relatives for seasonal celebrations instead confronting delays, cancellations, and uncertainty that transform anticipated reunions into stressful ordeals requiring contingency planning and flexible expectations.
