FAA Has Ordered A 'Ground Delay Program' At LaGuardia Airport In New York

The partial government shutdown is affecting airline travel today as controllers in Washington, D.C. and Florida have been calling in sick, leading to staffing shortages and affecting flights nationwide due to ground delays put in place at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Television station WNBC reports that a ground stop was ordered at LaGuardia just before 10 a.m. Friday. That led to a "ripple effect" at airports all along the east coast. It was later reduced to a "ground delay program", meaning that air traffic was moving again, but delayed an average of 40 minutes.  

The FAA said that the problems were not at LaGuardia, but rather in Washington, D.C. and in Florida. "We have experienced a slight increase in sick leave at two air traffic control facilities affecting New York and Florida," the agency said in a statement. "As with severe storms, we will adjust operations to a safe rate to match available controller resources. We've mitigated the impact by augmenting staffing, rerouting traffic, and increasing spacing between aircraft as needed."

Bloomberg News reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that President Trump has been briefed on the situation. In an emailed statement, Sanders said the White House is "monitoring the ongoing delays at some airports. We are in regular contact with officials at the Department of Transportation and the FAA."

Neither NATCA or the FAA has officially said that the issues have been caused by the partial shutdown, according to Bloomberg.

The partial government shutdown is in its 35th day, with furloughed federal workers missing their second paycheck. The U.S. Senate considered two bills to reopen the government on Thursday, one backed by Republicans and one supported by Democrats. Both failed to get the necessary 60 votes to pass the chamber.

(Image from file)

FMI: WNBC report, Bloomberg News