The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator confirmed this week that the agency expects to experience staffing shortages, which could potentially result in flight delays next week. The Thanksgiving travel period is expected to be one of the year's busiest weeks for commercial air transport as people nationwide travel over the long weekend.
The FAA, which is responsible for air traffic control across the country, met its hiring goals earlier this year but continues to face staffing shortages.
Over 600 flights were delayed into NYC-area airports in advance of the Veteran's Day weekend, and flights into Austin on Monday the 11th were delayed around half an hour when five air traffic controllers were unable to work as scheduled.
The slowing of inbound flights is a standard procedure for air traffic controllers when a staffing or equipment issue occurs; an FAA spokesperson confirmed to Simple Flying earlier this month.
Speaking to CNN at a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) yesterday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker confirmed the agency was expecting more delays over the coming days:
“During the Thanksgiving travel period, we will use traffic flow management initiatives to deal with any staffing shortages on that particular day in this airspace, and we expect to have some of those shortages. So, we’re working diligently to make sure that that can operate as efficiently as possible.
“These initiatives keep the system safe, and people should know that safety is never at risk. If we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe."
According to Airlines For America, air travel during this Thanksgiving holiday period is expected to reach an all-time high, with 31 million passengers taking to the skies.
US airlines have added 150,000 more seats each day than during the 2023 Thanksgiving holiday period, which saw nearly 29 million passengers passing through US airports.
Wednesday, November 27th, and Sunday, December 1st, are expected to be the busiest, with more than 3 million passengers expected on each day.
The FAA has made significant strides to increase staffing levels this year, as airspace continues to be busy. The agency exceeded its hiring goal this year, adding 1,811 air traffic controllers to the pipeline (up from 1,500 in 2023).
Speaking to Simple Flying today, an agency spokesperson confirmed the FAA plans to hire more than 2,000 air traffic controllers and accelerate the process by moving to a year-round hiring track for experienced controllers from the military and private industry.
Whitaker told reporters yesterday that the region with the highest potential for delays is the New York City Area.
The agency moved the Newark area air traffic sector to Philadelphia earlier this year, resulting in an unprecedented backlog of Air traffic controllers in training.
According to an authorized spokesperson, The Newark area air traffic sector at Philadelphia TRACON, which guides aircraft in and out of EWR, currently has 24Certified Professional Controllers onboard and a strong pipeline of air traffic controllers in the wings.
There are currently 16 Certified Professional Controllers in Training for the Newark area C, and another 12 will begin training at PHL in January. All of whom have previous experience at similar facilities. According to Whitaker, this is a record number, with the administrator noting:
"We have never had this kind of pipeline before for controllers to work the EWR airspace."
In addition to staffing concerns, there may also be weather-related delays. According to the FAA, the "vast majority" of delays in the National Airspace System result from weather and volume constraints.
