More than 8,000 flights were delayed across the United States on Sunday, October 26, 2025, as air traffic controller staffing shortages disrupted the country’s aviation network for a fourth straight week. The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing “triggers” at 22 locations, according to a report by Reuters. The delays formed part of the fallout from a federal government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines absorbed the largest share of the disruption, with 45 percent and about a third of their respective schedules delayed. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the staffing shortage was “one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system” since the shutdown began. Around 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers continued working without pay.
FAA Records 22 Staffing Triggers as Sunday Delays Reach 8,000 Flights
The FAA uses the term “trigger” to describe a facility reporting it does not have enough certified controllers on duty. Twenty-two such triggers were recorded on Saturday, October 25, Duffy told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures programme.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware recorded about 5,300 delays on Saturday. That figure rose to more than 8,000 by 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, the sharpest single-day increase of the shutdown to that point.
Ground delay programs were issued at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington, on Sunday. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, had already experienced a separate ground stop earlier in the disruption tied to Southern California traffic flow.
Southwest And American Airlines Absorb the Heaviest Share of Delays
Southwest Airlines (WN) — tag link not verified, see note below — recorded the highest proportion of delayed flights on Sunday, with 2,000 flights, or 45 percent of its schedule, affected. American Airlines (AA) followed with nearly 1,200 delayed flights, about a third of its total operations that day.
United Airlines (UA) had 739 delayed flights, representing 24 percent of its schedule. Delta Air Lines (DL) recorded 610 delays, or 17 percent of its flights.
These percentages reflect each airline’s own daily schedule rather than a shared total. That is why they do not add up to 100 percent.
Photo: Harrison Keely | Wikimedia Commons
Government Shutdown Leaves Controllers and TSA Staff Unpaid
Air traffic control is legally classified as an essential service. Controllers and TSA officers must keep reporting to work during a shutdown, even without pay.
The shutdown began after Congress failed to pass funding legislation before the new fiscal year started on October 1. , According to CBS News, Senate Democrats withheld support for a Republican funding bill unless it extended expiring health insurance subsidies, while Republicans said they would not negotiate on unrelated policy while the government remained closed.
The FAA was already short roughly 3,500 controllers before the shutdown began. That preexisting gap combined with unpaid status to intensify fatigue across the workforce.
Experts Warn Fatigue Will Worsen the Longer Controllers Go Unpaid
Chad Mourning, an assistant professor of computer science at Ohio University who studies aviation systems, told CNN that controllers can only work so much overtime before they burn out. He said flying remains safe, but delays are likely to persist as long as the shutdown continues.
A second researcher cited in the same report predicted more controllers would call in sick as financial pressure mounted. He pointed especially to early-career staff with lower salaries.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it does not endorse or support any coordinated action by controllers that would reduce airspace capacity. The union added that such action would violate federal law governing essential employees.
How This Compares to Earlier Shutdown-Era Disruptions
Staffing shortages had already disrupted flights before Sunday’s peak. Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Burbank, reported it had no certified controllers in its tower for a period in early October, cited by Axios.
By October 24, shortages were affecting a growing list of major airports beyond that initial cluster, a pattern Axios described as spreading rather than isolated. Duffy had warned as early as the shutdown’s first week that reduced traffic rates, and the resulting delays, were likely if staffing worsened, according to NPR.
Sunday’s total marked the most significant single-day disruption of the shutdown to that point, exceeding each of the preceding week’s daily figures.
What Happens Next as the Shutdown Continues
Duffy said further shortages were expected to cause more delays and cancellations in the days ahead. No resolution to the funding standoff had been reached at the time of Sunday’s disruption.
The FAA was expected to keep adjusting traffic rates at individual airports based on real-time staffing levels. Duffy has said this practice is meant to preserve safety margins, even as it lengthens wait times for travelers.
