The FAA is stopping flights to LaGuardia because there aren't enough air traffic controllers
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Delays have arrived at America's airports thanks to the government shutdown.
Air traffic controllers are among the 420,000 government employees who have been forced to work unpaid for five weeks, leading them to call in sick and even quit en masse. That shortage forced the Federal Aviation Administration to halt flights into New York City's LaGuardia airport Friday, and caused delays at airports nationwide, Bloomberg reports.
Philadelphia and Newark International Airports were specifically cited as having delays, per CNN, and Bloomberg noted delays in Washington, D.C. and Jacksonville, Florida. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) quickly responded to the LaGuardia shutdown by sending a letter to President Trump urging him to reopen the government.
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The Transportation Security Administration has also long been facing staffing shortages as TSA employees are forced to work without pay amid the shutdown, though staffers were told Friday they'd receive partial pay, CNBC says. Flight disruption is speculated to be the last straw that forces lawmakers and President Trump to pass a government funding bill.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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