Atlanta airport seeing delays, cancellations on Monday amid shutdown
Atlanta airport delays caused by ripple effect
Atlanta’s airport is seeing dozens of flight delays and cancellations as the federal government shutdown continues. Officials say the disruptions stem from nationwide staffing shortages rather than local issues. Despite flight delays, TSA lines in Atlanta remained short Monday morning, with waits under 10 minutes.
ATLANTA - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is seeing an increase in delays as the government shutdown reaches 34 days, but the airport says it's not due to a shortage of workers in Atlanta.
What we know:
The airport told FOX 5 that the delays and cancellations in Atlanta are due to shortages across the nation and not at the world's busiest airport.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, 12 flights had been canceled, and 23 flights delayed at the Atlanta airport, according to FlightAware.
Despite the delays in the skies, FOX 5's Brittany Edney said the security line at the main TSA checkpoint was moving quickly on Monday. The wait time was never over 10 minutes she reported.
Dig deeper:
Over the weekend, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flyers should expect delays, but that safety was the top priority for the FAA.
On Sunday, FlightAware recorded more than 223 delays and seven cancellations at the Atlanta airport, with more than half involving Delta Air Lines.
Leading airlines told FOX Business they are working to minimize delays and offer assistance to affected federal workers.
Big picture view:
Some of the major U.S. airlines are also stepping up to support air traffic controllers and other federal employees who continue to work without pay amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers nationwide are considered essential, meaning they must remain on the job even as their paychecks remain in limbo. The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has dragged on for weeks with no sign of resolution.
The Source: Information in this article comes from FlightAware.com and past FOX 5 reporting, which is linked throughout the story.