There weren't enough air traffic controllers on Wednesday night, and travelers felt it. The FAA stopped flights headed to Las Vegas twice because of the air traffic controller shortage, slowed Newark's arrivals from about 5 p.m. until midnight and restricted one of the routes into Atlanta. By late evening, it had logged staffing alerts at five air traffic control facilities across the country. Weather and broken equipment get most of the blame for delays, but tonight's had a simpler cause: not enough people in the room.
What Happened Tonight
The FAA put Newark under a ground stop at 5:07 p.m. Eastern, then switched to a ground delay program that runs until midnight. Flights bound for Newark were held an average of about 65 minutes before takeoff, and some up to two hours, according to flight tracking app True Skies. Some Newark-bound flights were diverted elsewhere, and the FAA was still working to bring them back late in the evening. Teterboro, the private jet airport nearby, was put under the same restrictions.
The FAA's command center also flagged staffing problems at the center that handles high-altitude traffic around Atlanta, which led it to restrict one of the routes planes use to arrive there. Two areas of the center covering New Mexico and Arizona were short too, as was the facility handling Las Vegas arrivals. Las Vegas had a staffing ground stop lifted late in the afternoon, according to True Skies, only for the FAA to put a new one in place at 8:19 p.m. Eastern, set to run until 9:30. Even New York Center's traffic management team was on the list.
What a "Staffing Trigger" Means
When a facility doesn't have enough certified controllers on shift to handle its normal traffic, the FAA declares what it calls a staffing trigger. It then slows down the number of planes heading into that airspace, using ground stops, delay programs or longer routes, so the controllers on duty can keep up.
That's a safety valve, not a safety failure. The flights that are delayed are delayed so that the planes in the air keep getting the attention they need. For passengers, though, it shows up the same way a thunderstorm does: a long wait at the gate, or a plane that sits on the ground at the origin airport because the destination can't take it yet.
certified US air traffic controllers
short of the FAA's own target
for a new hire to become fully certified
Why There Aren't Enough Controllers
The FAA had 11,027 certified controllers at the end of September. That's up from about 10,700 a year earlier, but still more than 1,500 short of its own target of 12,563, and that target is already about 2,000 lower than the one the agency set in 2024. The FAA says better scheduling tools mean it can run the system with fewer people than it once thought.
Hiring is the slow part. The FAA brought on a record 2,235 trainees in the year ending in September, but it can take two years or more for a new hire to become fully certified, and some never make it through. Controllers also have to retire at 56. Last fall's government shutdown made things worse, since controllers worked for weeks without pay and some left for more stable jobs. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has been unusually blunt about it, saying the system "is designed to be chronically understaffed," according to Fox News.
Why Newark Gets Hit Hardest
Newark's arrivals aren't handled in New Jersey or New York. In 2024, the FAA moved the small team that guides planes in and out of Newark from a facility on Long Island to Philadelphia, hoping the move would make it easier to train and keep controllers. That team is small, so one or two missing people can make a real difference on any given shift.
The setup has had other problems too. Equipment and communication failures at the Philadelphia facility caused major Newark meltdowns in 2025, and on Sept. 21 this year, a cut fiber line stopped Newark arrivals for most of the day and caused about 7,000 delays and cancellations nationwide. Partly because of staffing, the FAA has capped Newark at 72 takeoffs and landings an hour, and it recently extended that limit through October 2027.
What It Means for Your Next Flight
There's no quick fix coming, so it's worth flying a little defensively, especially through Newark. Morning flights are your best bet, since delays from any problem tend to build through the day. If you're connecting, give yourself more time than the airline's minimum, and if you're flying into New York and have a choice, JFK and LaGuardia aren't run out of Philadelphia.
On the day you fly, check your airline's app and the FAA's airport status page before heading out. Airlines generally treat air traffic control delays as outside their control, so meal vouchers and hotel rooms aren't guaranteed, but if your flight is canceled and you choose not to travel, US rules say you're owed a refund.
The problems aren't over tonight, either. The FAA expects to slow or stop flights into Boston from late Thursday morning and says Washington's Reagan National, San Diego and Phoenix could see delays too. If you're flying through any of them on Thursday, check before you leave.
