Bay Area airports run smoothly during government shutdown

As the partial federal government shutdown dragged on Tuesday, the spending impasse was starting to affect air travel in California and around the country.

The Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California was out of service for six hours on Monday because of air traffic control staffing shortages. A dozen flights were canceled and scores of others were delayed. Similar problems arose at airports in Denver and Newark, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday, as more air traffic controllers than usual called out sick.

Bay Area airports haven’t yet seen significant flight delays or cancellations. But staffing shortages and flight delays triggered a social media spat between Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and signaled potential for more widespread disruption as the funding dispute continued.

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The federal government considers air traffic controllers essential workers during the ongoing shutdown, which means they have to work without pay until Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., reach a funding agreement.

On Tuesday morning, flight delays were mostly limited to Southwest Airlines departures from the airports in Oakland and San Jose, though the reason wasn’t clear. It also wasn’t clear whether more air traffic controllers than usual were calling out sick in the Bay Area. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers’ union, did not respond to an inquiry.

But at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, about double the normal number of TSA officers are calling out sick, said Gilbert Galam, secretary of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1230. The union represents about 1,200 Transportation Security Administration officers in Northern California, including at the Oakland airport and San Jose Mineta International Airport.

Galam said Tuesday that up to 25 officers had called out at the Oakland airport. Normally, about a dozen officers do so on a given day, he said. Like air traffic controllers, TSA officers are required to report to work during the shutdown and continue screening travelers and their luggage.

“It has been getting pretty dire,” Galam said.

The shortage puts more pressure on agents who do show up, he said — in particular, women officers, who are required to pat down women travelers under the agency’s gender rules. Galam said he expects more and more officers to call out of work if the shutdown drags on. TSA officers are expected to receive a partial paycheck this week that includes work clocked before the shutdown started on Oct. 1, he said. After that, paychecks will be “nonexistent,” Galam said.

“I’ll turn into a death spiral of those calling off,” he said.

Bay Area News Group asked the airport’s officials if staffing issues posed any safety risks.

“We are not aware of any operational issues at OAK relating to TSA staffing,” said Oakland airport spokesperson Kaley Skantz. “All security procedures and standards for the flying public are being maintained.”

San Jose Mineta International Airport has not seen unusual numbers of TSA officers staying home, according to Galam.

And at San Francisco International Airport, safety screening is handled by a private company, Covenant Aviation Security. The company did not respond to an inquiry. Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for the airport, said Tuesday that he hadn’t heard “any such reports” about issues with screening staff there.

Problems with air travel during the federal shutdown are a political football between Democrats and Republicans. The parties have blamed each other for the budget impasse and the broad impacts to the federal government. Democrats in the Senate have withheld their votes for the Republican-crafted budget in an attempt to extend a pandemic-era tax credit that’s made health care more affordable for millions.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed nationally, while air travel staffers and others are working without pay. The Bay Area is home to 41,000 federal jobs.

Newsom, a Democrat, blamed President Donald Trump, a Republican, for the delays and cancellations in Burbank on Monday.

“Thanks, @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom posted on X. “Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. today because of YOUR government shutdown.”

The Trump-nominated Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, fired back.

“The reason we are shut down is because YOUR party can’t get its priorities straight,” he replied on X. “Democrats prioritize things like free healthcare to illegal immigrants over making sure our hard-working air traffic controllers at Burbank airport get paid.”

Broad disruptions to air travel could be politically radioactive. In 2019, during the most recent federal shutdown, and the longest at 35 days, Democrats and Republicans forged an agreement shortly after just 10 air traffic controllers stayed home in Virginia and Florida, CNN reported, and threw a wrench in flight schedules.