New York Airports Experiance ground Stops Amidst Ongoing Federal Shutdown
New York, NY – January 11, 2025 – John F.Kennedy International and laguardia Airports temporarily halted departures Friday evening due to a shortage of air traffic controllers stemming from the ongoing federal government shutdown. The disruptions are impacting travel across the Northeast and into Canada.
The Federal aviation Governance (FAA) initially implemented a ground stop at JFK for approximately 90 minutes.Delays were further compounded by wind conditions, adding roughly an hour to flight times. Following the lifting of the JFK suspension, the FAA issued another ground stop at LaGuardia between 9:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.GMT (5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. local time) affecting flights to Washington D.C., Cleveland, Boston, various Canadian destinations, and incoming flights to New York.
According to CNN,staffing shortages are notably acute in New York,indianapolis,and Boston. The New York City Emergency Management agency (NYCEM) confirmed the controller shortage at JFK is causing takeoff disruptions, with flights bound for New York being held at their origin airports to mitigate congestion.
Arrivals at JFK have been limited to 36 planes per hour due to the reduced staffing levels.
The current federal government shutdown is in its thirty-first day, threatening air traffic control operations nationwide as employees miss paychecks. This shutdown is now the second-longest in U.S. history, nearing the record of 35 days set between 2018-2019. A key factor in resolving the 2018-2019 shutdown was the critical shortage of air traffic controllers.
