LAX and San Diego airports experience major delays due to air traffic control shortages

Flights were delayed by an average of at least an hour Sunday at Southern California’s two busiest airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the federal government shutdown.

An advisory from the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center said delays were expected to continue into Sunday night.

The issue is related to “staffing,” the announcement said. For San Diego, the recommendation points to “tower staffing” issues.

Delays for flights to Los Angeles International Airport between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. are expected to increase to nearly 1.5 hours. At San Diego International Airport, delays are expected to be worse to nearly an hour and 20 minutes between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The only airport in the country to receive a ground delay warning was New Jersey, where the situation was even worse. An announcement stated that flights to Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed by an average of more than 3.5 hours. Expect an average delay of 4.5 hours from 7pm to 8pm ET.

Since the federal government shutdown began on Oct. 1, the FAA has warned of chaos at airports due to staffing shortages.

When the federal government shuts down, air traffic controllers must work without pay and cannot receive retroactive pay until Congress reaches an agreement on a budget.

Air traffic control towers at airports across the country have been short-staffed since the shutdown began.

Times staff writer Stacey Perlman contributed to this report.