Airports are buckling under pressure—and some could shut down, officials warn

TSA staffing shortages during the government shutdown are creating serious strain.

[Source Photo: Freepik]

A government shutdown, war in the Middle East, and storms: airline passengers in the U.S. are facing quite a number of issues right now. 

On Sunday, 10,740 flights were delayed and another 3,249 were canceled within, into, or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware. On Monday, those numbers rose to 12,926 and 4,863, respectively. 

More than half of flights into and out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport (ATL) were delayed Monday, while over a third of those into or out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) were canceled. 

A similar pattern followed on Monday, and by 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday there were 1,156 delays with another 215 cancellations. 

Why is air travel such a mess right now?

Airports’ most recent issue is weather. Winter Storm Iona plummeted parts of the Midwest over the weekend and into Monday, bringing record snowfall up to three feet in places like Michigan and Wisconsin, The Weather Channel reports. More than 20 tornadoes have also swept through states such as Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, and North Carolina over the last few days.

Then there’s the rising price of oil, stemming from the current war in Iran. On February 26, U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and at least 3,114 people, according to a March 17 report from the U.S.-based group, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA). The ensuing war has shut down much of the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, and disrupted global oil supplies. 

Some airlines have announced increases to their flight prices in response to raising fuel costs, Business Insider reports. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) said Tuesday that it would cancel over 1,000 flights in April due to the higher cost of oil, Reuters reports. 

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