Staffing shortages at a Southern California air traffic facility force temporary halt to LAX-bound flights amid ongoing government shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights bound for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sunday morning, citing a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic control facility.
The ground stop, issued at one of the world’s busiest airports, came shortly after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that travelers should expect increasing flight delays and cancellations as air traffic controllers continue working without pay during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Appearing on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Duffy said growing financial strain has led to more controllers calling in sick, compounding stress in an already demanding profession.
“Just yesterday, we had 22 staffing triggers — one of the highest we’ve seen since the shutdown began. That’s a sign controllers are wearing thin,” Duffy said.
According to the FAA, aircraft bound for Los Angeles were held at their departure airports beginning at 11:42 a.m. Eastern Time, resulting in average delays of about one hour and 40 minutes. The agency said it anticipated lifting the ground stop by 1:30 p.m. Eastern, though it cautioned that traffic restrictions into LAX could continue through the afternoon.
