Dean Fioresi is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. He covers breaking news throughout Southern California. When he's not writing about local events, he enjoys focusing on sports and entertainment.
The Hollywood Burbank Airport will be operating without air traffic controllers on Monday night, which could create considerable flight delays for travelers.
In an advisory issued early Monday, Federal Aviation Administration officials said that the airport was anticipating no air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Airport officials were reportedly trying to bring in staffing prior to 10 p.m. but were "uncertain" if it was going to be possible.
"There have been increased staffing shortages across the system. When that happens, the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations," said a statement from an FAA spokesperson.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom took to X to address the situation, claiming that the airport had no air traffic control employees due to the federal government shutdown.
At around 4:30 p.m., airport officials said, "Operations are continuing at Hollywood Burbank Airport. We are advising passengers to check with their airline before coming to the airport for updates on potential delays or cancellations."
The FAA issued a ground delay from 4 p.m. to 9:59 p.m., estimating that the average delay would be approximately 151 minutes, or nearly two and a half hours.
On Monday morning, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing the country's air traffic controllers, instructed its members to continue working during the shutdown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also addressed the air traffic control concerns during a conference held at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. He said that some parts of the country were seeing an uptick in sick calls from air traffic controllers who are working without pay until the shutdown is over.
During the most recent government shutdown, which lasted for 34 days from December 2018 to January 2019, several major U.S. airports were forced to limit flights due to a large number of sick calls from air traffic controllers. During that same time, approximately 10% of the country's Transportation Security Administration workers also called in sick, which led to security screening delays.
This comes at a time when the nation is already facing a major shortage in air traffic controllers, with a CBS News analysis of FAA data showing that 90% of the terminal towers at U.S. airports didn't have enough to meet standards required by NATCA and the FAA.
The FAA advisory also noted that there were other staffing triggers at airports in Denver, Phoenix and Detroit on Monday.