Staffing shortages triggered a brief ground stop at Nashville International Airport on Tuesday as the effects of the federal government shutdown continue to ripple through the U.S. air transportation system.
According to an FAA advisory, the ground stop went into effect around 6:30 p.m. local time and expired at 8 p.m. The agency cited “staffing” as the cause.
The advisory did not link the shortage to a specific segment of workers, but it likely refers to air traffic controllers, who are under significant strain due to the government shutdown.
Earlier in the day, the FAA advised officials at Nashville that it would be reducing the number of flights arriving at and departing from the airport due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Those restrictions went into effect at 2:30 p.m. local time, before the ground stop, and will continue “until further notice,” the airport wrote on Facebook.
Because of the government shutdown, federal workers deemed essential, including air traffic controllers and TSA officers, have been working without pay. Starting on Monday, the U.S. Transportation Department noted a slight increase in the number of air traffic controllers calling out sick, which translated to delays at a number of major airports, including Chicago O’Hare, Denver, and Newark, New Jersey.
On Monday evening, Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California was left without a single air traffic controller for about six hours. Arrivals and departures at Burbank were handled remotely by controllers in San Diego.
