Democrats’ Shutdown Stops Traffic At Critical American Airport
A 75-minute ground stopover was authorized Wednesday at Newark Liberty International Airport due to “staffing issues” caused by the federal government shutdown.
Departing flights were grounded from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the New Jersey airport and flights were delayed 40 minutes after the layover ended, NBC 4 New York first reported. About 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents missed their first full paycheck Tuesday, straining an already understaffed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has been strained for decades, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (RELATED: Democrats Defy Allied Federal Workers Union’s Call to End Government Shutdown)
Three more FAA air traffic advisories were issued Wednesday due to staffing shortages, including Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control Zone C, New York Air Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) Zone D and Indianapolis ARTCC Zone 5, Forbes reported. Philadelphia approach control oversees the sequencing and separation of aircraft in Newark, the New York control center controls en-route flights over parts of Pennsylvania, and the Indianapolis control center handles flights over the Midwest states.
The FAA also reported a possible ground stop Wednesday at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after 4 p.m. and until 10 p.m. for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
It’s horrible and completely unnecessary.
President Trump continues to call on Democrats to vote for Clean CR to OPEN the government. https://t.co/0rHzbslO5N
– Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 29, 2025
“A lot of people are concerned about safety and security, so I’m certainly concerned about that and I want to make sure that we take every step possible to be able to resolve this issue,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim told the Daily Caller News Foundation of the layover at his state’s largest airport. “That’s what worries me, making sure they [air traffic controllers] can be paid and ensuring that they are not collateral damage from this shutdown.
Nearly all Senate Democrats, including Kim, voted a total of 13 times to block a bipartisan, Republican-backed funding measure to end the shutdown.
In early October, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was short 3,000 employees. Duffy told Fox News on Sunday that “the controllers wear out.”
“Just yesterday we had 22 hiring triggers. That’s one of the highest we’ve seen in the system since the shutdown started, and it’s a sign that the controllers are burning out. And again, they’re taking a second job. They’re looking for, ‘Can I drive Uber?’ Can I find another source of revenue?” Duffy said on Fox News Sunday. “What I see as we approach Monday, tomorrow, Tuesday, Wednesday is you’re going to see more staff shortages in the towers, which means you’re going to see more delays, more cancellations.
Throughout the shutdown, second jobs became commonplace for controllers. Checkers began waiting tables, running errands for Instacart, delivering food for DoorDash and tutoring on weekends to make ends meet, according to Reuters.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged Wednesday that strain checkers are feeling amid the shutdown and accused President Donald Trump of denying Republicans “permission” to negotiate with Democrats over a funding measure to end the shutdown.
“Donald Trump must be serious, give permission to [House Speaker] Mike Johnson and [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune sits down and negotiates with Democrats. That’s all it takes,” Jeffries told reporters Wednesday. “I’m very confident in the ability of the hard-working air traffic controllers, TSA officers and others who continue to do their jobs with the highest degree of professionalism.”
Caden Olson contributed to this report.
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