Flight operations were returning to normal Tuesday at Hollywood Burbank Airport following a chaotic evening that featured cancellations and delays amid a staffing shortage linked to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
By late morning Tuesday, only two flight cancellations were reported at the airport -- one inbound and one outbound flight, according to the flight- tracking website FlightAware. There were 13 outbound flight delays and eight inbound delays, according to the website.
On Monday, the airport had no air traffic controllers in its tower from 4:15 p.m. until about 10 p.m. due to the government shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday the airport was working to bring in staff to get flight operations back on track, but there were reports of about a dozen cancellations and multiple delays.
According to the FAA's website, several measures were put in place, including ground delays at airports in other cities. The agency said departures to Burbank Airport were delayed an average of 151 minutes.
ABC7 reported that air traffic controllers headed home at 4:15 p.m. and the Burbank tower was left unstaffed. Duties were handed off to Southern California TRACON, a departure team based in San Diego, which coordinated with pilots arriving and departing from Burbank Airport.
It remained unclear Tuesday if the Burbank tower was back to normal staffing, or if the tower might again wind up unstaffed later in the day.
Earlier in the day Monday, airport spokesman Mike Christensen told City News Service that "operations and flights were running normally," but referred further questions to the FAA once the staffing shortage took effect.
"As Secretary (Sean) Duffy said, there have been increased staffing shortages across the system. When that happens, the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations," according to the FAA.
On Tuesday morning, KNX News’ Jon Baird spoke with travelers heading into the airport about Monday’s incident.
One man said he couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
“How is that even possible?” he said. “It seems incredibly dangerous to leave the airport without any air traffic controllers.”
Laura, who was heading to Portland, said there was no reason the towers should’ve been empty and for the police to have been called.
“I mean, when safety and actual things in place are being affected by somebody's antics, now it's getting extra dangerous,” she said.
Steven, who was traveling to Salt Lake City, said he was worried about missing his flight.
“I got here early, and I checked several times after I woke up before I left the house,” he said.
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As essential workers, air traffic controllers are expected to remain on the job despite the government shutdown, even thought they are not being paid. But staffing shortages were anticipated as the shutdown continued.
Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed the situation on the shutdown, posting on X, "Thanks, @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. today because of YOUR government shutdown."
The government shutdown entered its seventh day Tuesday as Democrats and Republicans remained at odds over a funding plan. Both a GOP-backed stopgap measure and a Democratic alternative failed to advance in the Senate.
The last federal shutdown lasted 35 days in 2018-19 during President Donald Trump's first term in office.
The FAA advised passengers to check https://fly.faa.gov for real-time flight impacts.
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