Earlier this week, a full ground stop was ordered at LA Guardia Airport in New York City. Essentially, almost all service on inbound flights was halted and delayed flights both in and out of La Guardia. The source of this delay stemmed from a lack of available workers at Washington Center – a key air traffic control center for the southern and mid-Atlantic United States. The staff shortage is painted within the context of the ongoing government shutdown, but the article goes on to point out that it is not the main source of the shortage. The FAA cites that an increase in sick leave from the operators lead to the ground stop. The article goes on to then explain how these types of delays are not uncommon and can happen for a number of different reasons. The main point of this article, however, is that this may be a sign of what’s in store if the shutdown continues. Within the shutdown, there is a strong possibility that ground stops may increase in both frequency and severity. Federal workers are soon to be without their 2nd paycheck since the shutdown, and the still-working controllers are reaching a “breaking point” of exhaustion and stress.
In general, I think that this situation highlights the absolute necessity that communication plays within the aviation industry. Speaking under a more general scope of communication, the ability to convey and relay information for an entire airspace is of the utmost importance. Without air traffic control, the entire airline industry would come grinding to a halt. And while it’s only causing minor delays at the moment, ATC employees can only work without pay for so long. If the shutdown continues for much longer, the entire systems of aviation communication within the US will only get worse. The safety of operations relies on the effective cooperation between any given flight and the corresponding air traffic control center.
Source: Mary Schlangenstein, Alan Levin. “NYC Flight Disruptions Put Spotlight on FAA as Shutdown Drags On.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 25 Jan. 2019, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-25/laguardia-flights-halted-as-shutdown-hits-air-traffic-staffing.