Government Shutdown Grounds Flights: FAA's Paycheck Vanishing Act

Photo by Volodymyr Proskurovskyi on Unsplash

The U.S. government has been ghosting paychecks for FAA air traffic controllers for a full month, dragging travel chaos to airport hubs like Austin-Bergstrom (65-minute delays, thanks Dallas-Fort Worth inbound flights) and Newark Liberty, now crawling at 20 planes per hour with 3.5+ hour waits. NYC’s own Sean Duffy broadcasted a cryptic warning blaming Democrats, plus Chuck and Hakeem, for this episode of 'Flight Delayed: Political Edition,' ominously hinting longer shutdowns mean worse air mess. Meanwhile, Jacksonville declared a staffing emergency rerouting planes circling Southeast airspace while Nashville and San Francisco took a brief break from delay drama. Through October 27-29, FlightAware tracked thousands of delays (over 6,200 on a sad Friday) and nearly 500 cancellations. Controllers union boss Nick Daniels staged a heroic plea for a Congressional fix, while Duffy dared to call current conditions 'good days.' Meanwhile, passengers get front row seats to this tragicomic saga. Spoiler: flights aren’t flying, and paychecks aren’t paying.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

The FAA’s shutdown strategy: miss paychecks, watch air traffic vanish, blame politicians, rinse, repeat. If losing your paycheck is a new flight delay cause, welcome to the government’s remake of 'Grounded: The Gate Change Apocalypso.'

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Congrats to the FAA controllers for pioneering 'ghost paycheck delays,' the only stand-up comedy where pilots, politicians, and passengers all get clown roles.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Newark's got more delays than your favorite streaming service's buffering wheel, but at least their spin is blaming Democrats like it’s a blockbuster conspiracy.

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