Washington —
A pilot preparing to take off Monday from Hollywood Burbank Airport in California took the routine step of radioing the air traffic control tower.
But instead of the usual back-and-forth conversation of coordinating departure, the pilot received a different response: “The tower is closed due to staffing,” according to audio recorded by LiveATC.net.
The exchange is one example of the impact the ongoing government shutdown is having on travelers across the US as air traffic controller staffing issues have led to delays at major airports and forced pilots in some areas to pivot to alternative workflows.
Controllers are considered essential workers, so they must work during the shutdown, but are not being paid.
Twelve Federal Aviation Administration facilities saw staffing shortages Monday night. The control towers in Burbank, Phoenix and Denver had so called “staffing triggers” reported in the public FAA operations plan. Other facilities that handle air traffic around airports in Newark, New Jersey; Jacksonville, Florida; Chicago, Washington, DC, and Indianapolis also were short staffed.
Perhaps the most dramatic impact was at the Burbank airport where the control tower was entirely shut down around 4:15 p.m. Monday afternoon.
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