Airports continue to suffer delays due to persistent staffing shortages as the busy summer travel season approaches.
On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas due to staffing issues—the second such incident in the last couple of weeks. On May 11, similar delays were reported due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas called the continued staff shortages an “FAA failure.”
“Central Texans can expect more such delays throughout the busy summer months, as the FAA and the Trump Administration continue to shrink the FAA workforce and delay proper safety measures for our overwhelmed, overworked local controllers,” he wrote.
In January, the FAA said that only 32 of the 60 air traffic controller positions were filled at the Austin airport. In 2024, the airport had 35 air traffic controllers out of a goal of 42.
Texas’ airplane groundings came just a few hours after the FAA announced that it would be reducing the number of incoming and departing flights at Newark Liberty International Airport by nearly 25% percent due to recent staff shortages and disturbing system blackouts.
Salvage crews recover wreckage from the Potomac River after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter on Feb. 6.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy was busy posting promotional videos while touring Tesla facilities, doing influencer-style bits with Elon Musk to promote the “future of autonomous vehicles,” which Musk has promised—and failed to deliver—for a little under a decade.
Last week, Duffy made a video of himself rummaging through the basement of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to find a painting of Jesus, which he moved up a few floors to a “place of prominence” at the academy.
Earlier this month, Duffy announced a plan to offer a “lump sum payment” to air traffic controllers of retirement age in an effort to keep them on staff. He also offered $5,000 “bonuses” to recent FAA Academy graduates to encourage them to fill the air traffic controller vacancies.
At the same time, he blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives under the Biden administration for the country’s aviation infrastructure problems.
Since January, the Trump administration has significantly exacerbated aviation woes. This is due in no small part to the wholesale firings and forced resignations of government employees, including aviation specialists, carried out by Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
As with other essential government roles, the Trump administration has been scrambling to rehire many of the people it labeled “waste and fraud” just a few weeks earlier.
Travelers should expect continued uncertainty and delays in air travel for the foreseeable future.
Campaign Action
