FAA says air traffic control staffing issues will cause more flight delays
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Aviation Administration said late Sunday that air traffic control staffing issues were delaying travel at airports in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Newark as a U.S. government shutdown hit its 19th day.
The FAA said numerous staffing triggers had been received for the evening shift and flights could also be delayed in Las Vegas and Phoenix because of air traffic control absences.
FlightAware said more than 5,800 flights had been delayed on Sunday. Weather issues and a Formula 1 race in Austin were also impacting flights.
More than 20% of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flights were delayed Sunday, according to FlightAware.
Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work during the government shutdown, but are not being paid.
Earlier this month, more than 23,000 flights were delayed over a week and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said 53% of flight delays were due to staffing issues, compared with 5% normally, but staffing issues have largely improved over the last week.
Air traffic control has become a flashpoint in the debate over the shutdown with both parties blaming the other. Unions and airlines have urged a quick end to the standoff.
The Trump administration is airing videos at some airport security checkpoints blaming Democrats, but many airports have refused to run them.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
Trump posts fake video of flying a ‘King Trump’ jet over protesters
(NYT) — President Donald Trump has posted a fake video on social media that showed him wearing a crown and flying a jet labeled “King Trump” that dumps brown liquid on protesters.
The short video, shared on Trump’s Truth Social account late Saturday, was posted on the same day that protesters participated in a daylong mass demonstration, known as “No Kings,” against the Trump administration. The protests were held in cities and towns in all 50 states, with participants holding signs such as “I Pledge Allegiance to No King” and chanting slogans against the president, accusing him of acting in authoritarian ways.
The fake video, set to the song “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, shows the plane dropping a brown liquid resembling feces onto the heads of protesters, who appeared to be gathered in a city.
The White House on Saturday also posted on social media an artificial intelligence-generated image of Trump and Vice President JD Vance wearing crowns. “Have a good night, everyone,” the post said, with the crown emoji.
The No Kings protests followed another mass demonstration in June, when an estimated 5 million people participated in some 2,000 protests nationwide. The event Saturday was organized by national and local groups and well-known progressive coalitions, including Indivisible, 50501 and MoveOn. Republican leaders denounced the protests, blaming them for prolonging the government shutdown and calling the event the “hate America rally.”
In an interview with Fox News, set to air Sunday, Trump said of the protesters: “They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”