U. S. Airports Face Chaos as Controllers Stay Home

The U. S. is seeing a lot of flight delays right now. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that eight big airports, like those in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, are having problems. This is because many air traffic controllers are not showing up to work. Why? Because they haven't been paid during the government shutdown. The FAA says there are not enough controllers in 10 places across the country. This could mean more delays at other airports too. Airlines have been told to cancel some flights to help with the problem. But even with these cancellations, over 2, 300 flights were delayed by lunchtime. The shutdown has been going on for 38 days. That's the longest in U. S. history. During this time, 13, 000 air traffic controllers and 50, 000 security agents have been working without pay. Some people worry that controllers might not come to work because they feel they are not being treated fairly. The Transportation Secretary has asked the controllers' union to encourage workers to come to work. He said, "This is not about you now having a 'get-out-of-jail-free' to not come to work. " But the problem is real. On one day, nearly half of the busiest U. S. airports had shortages of controllers. That led to over 6, 200 delays and 500 cancellations. This situation is not just about the shutdown. It's also about how we treat the people who keep our airports running. If controllers feel undervalued, they might not show up. And that means more delays for everyone.