BURBANK, Calif. — Operations at Southern California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport might face disruptions as a growing number of air traffic controllers begin to take absences due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Beginning at 4:15 p.m. Monday, Hollywood Burbank Airport will have no air traffic controllers in their tower, ABC News has learned.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects there won’t be air traffic controllers at the airport until 10 p.m. Local authorities, however, are working to arrange earlier staffing if possible.
Eyewitness News spoke with air traffic controllers at Burbank Airport, who mentioned they would leave by 4:15 p.m., rendering the tower unstaffed at that time. They plan to pass their responsibilities to Southern California TRACON in San Diego, which manages approaches and departures for flights arriving and departing from Burbank.
Officials are hoping for minimal impacts on travelers, but it’s unclear what the extent of the impacts may be.
An FAA advisory indicated the presence of various staffing triggers, including ground delays affecting airports in Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Phoenix.
Delays with air travel were anticipated due to the government shutdown, which entered its sixth day on Monday.
Despite this, control towers and airport security checkpoints continue to have staff, with approximately 13,200 air traffic controllers and over 61,000 TSA employees expected to keep working.
However, according to Jeffrey Price, a professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, if the situation persists, travelers might experience longer security lines and potential flight disruptions as employees go without pay.
“The system does become a little bit more brittle, and the longer this goes, the more the traveler is going to notice it,” Price said.
That’s what happened in 2018 and 2019, when Trump led the country into its longest shutdown ever for 35 days during his first term.
About three weeks into that shutdown, some unpaid security screeners started calling in sick, and air traffic controllers sued the government in a bid to get their paychecks. Miami International Airport had to temporarily close one of its terminals because TSA officers were calling in sick at twice the airport’s usual rate.
The latest shutdown is unfolding at a time when both the TSA and the Federal Aviation Administration are already facing staffing shortages, including a shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers.
If the system can’t handle the number of flights that are scheduled, the FAA will slow down landings and take offs and passengers will see more delays and cancellations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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