Major delays are piling up at airports across the United States as air traffic controllers and TSA staff, working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown, have begun calling out sick.

A video shared by ABC News’ Gio Benitez shows long lines of frustrated travelers, as the weekend brought some of the worst travel disruptions since the start of the shutdown. More than 5,000 flights to and from US airports were delayed on Sunday alone.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), staffing levels are “strained” at several airports, including in the New York City area, where around 80% of controllers didn’t show up for work on Friday.

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Flights across US face major delays

In an evening update, the FAA said half of the country’s 30 busiest air traffic facilities, known as the Core 30, were experiencing staffing shortages, causing “widespread impacts.”

The delays come as the government shutdown drags into its 31st day, with Congress still divided and trading blame. The longer the shutdown continues, the deeper its impact on essential services, especially aviation.

Social media is filled with videos and photos capturing the frustration at airports, with some users sharing how their flights have been delayed by three to four hours. In some cases, people were seen lining up to board at their flight time, only to be met with an announcement that their plane hadn’t even landed yet.

Air traffic controllers are required to keep working even during shutdowns since their jobs are considered essential. But they haven’t been paid in a month. “After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue,” the FAA said.

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By Friday afternoon, staffing shortages were already disrupting travel in Boston, Nashville, Dallas, and Newark, among other major hubs. Boston’s Logan International Airport, a key hub for JetBlue, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a major base for American Airlines, both reported delays because of staffing issues.

Michael McCormick, a former air traffic controller and now a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said the situation can turn worse “When you have delays at airline hubs, it throws everything off,  passengers miss connections, bags don’t make it, and even crews and aircraft end up in the wrong place,” he said.

White House responds

Speaking outside the White House on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said the administration is deeply concerned about the growing pressure on aviation workers. “Everybody here is concerned that we’re going to see more delays, more stress on the people who actually make the aviation system run, and more problems for both consumers and the great workers who keep this system going,” Vance said.

While experienced controllers earn an average salary of about $150,000 a year, newer employees start out making roughly $50,000, said Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies labour in aviation.

“For those just starting out, the pressure is really acute,” Rosenfeld told ABC News. “They have bills to pay like everyone else.”

Controllers will eventually receive back pay once the shutdown ends, as they did after the 35-day shutdown in 2019,  but until then, many have to depend on savings or side jobs to get by.

Despite the mayhem, officials say that passenger safety still remains the priority. McCormick emphasised that delays, while frustrating, are actually a sign that safety remains the top priority. “I firmly believe it’s safe to fly,” he said. “The whole reason there are delays is that they’re throttling down the demand in the system to match staffing levels.”

However, he added that these disruptions are harder to predict than weather-related delays. “The challenge for passengers is that these are unpredictable. Airlines can plan around a storm, but staffing shortages can happen suddenly,” he added.