Democrat Shutdown Cripples FAA, Delays Flights, and Risks American Lives

Democrats’ reckless government shutdown, driven by their obsession with funneling American taxpayer dollars into healthcare for illegal aliens, has unleashed chaos on the nation’s air travel system.

Airports from coast to coast are reeling as air traffic control towers close and flights face crippling delays, leaving travelers stranded and the aviation system on the brink.

"The tower is closed due to staffing," a pilot at Hollywood Burbank Airport was told Monday, per audio from LiveATC.net.

The shutdown’s ripple effect left Burbank’s control tower shuttered by 4:15 p.m., forcing pilots to navigate takeoffs and landings using protocols typically reserved for small, uncontrolled airports.

Delays there stretched over two and a half hours.

Twelve FAA facilities, including those in Phoenix, Denver, Newark, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., reported staffing shortages Monday night, per the FAA’s operations plan.

Denver and Newark, major United Airlines hubs, saw ground delays as controllers struggled to manage traffic.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted a spike in controllers calling out sick, saying, "So now what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace, is, ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car payment?'"

He added, "If we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people."

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NPR highlights the shutdown’s broader toll, with Duffy warning, "If we see there's issues in the tower that are affecting controllers' ability to effectively control the airspace, we'll reduce the rate, and you'll see more delays or you might see a cancellation."

The FAA confirmed it "slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations" amid shortages.

NATCA, representing controllers, stated, "It is normal for a few air traffic controllers to … call in sick on any given day, and this is the latest example of how fragile our aviation system is in the midst of a national shortage of these critical safety professionals."

California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed President Trump, tweeting, "Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15pm to 10pm today because of YOUR government shutdown."

Meanwhile, the Essential Air Service, subsidizing flights to 170 rural communities, faces funding cuts by Sunday.

Duffy warned, "Every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities."

The 2018-2019 shutdown ended after controller absences snarled traffic, and history is repeating itself.

A 2023 FAA safety report warned shutdowns "undermine" the agency’s "safety-critical" mission, disrupting controller hiring and training while delaying flights and infrastructure investments.

"We need to bring this shutdown to a close so that the Federal Aviation Administration and the committed aviation safety professionals can put this distraction aside and focus completely on their vital work," NATCA’s Nick Daniels urged.

Democrats’ refusal to prioritize American workers and travelers over their open-borders agenda has grounded flights and jeopardled chaos.

Controllers, unpaid and overworked, are stretched thin, and rural communities face isolation as subsidies dry up.