Flights to LAX were temporarily halted Sunday as the FAA cited a shortage of air traffic controllers linked to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration said flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted Sunday morning due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility.

The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed and canceled in the coming days as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown.

During an appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures,” Duffy said more controllers were calling in sick as money worries compound the stress of an already challenging job.

  • favoredponcho@lemmy.zip
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    23 hours ago

    Air traffic controllers once did have a union, they went on strike, and then Reagan fired everyone. The union was decertified by the government and dissolved.

      • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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        8 hours ago

        That would be such a hilariously sad type of self harm. I don’t think the staffing has even fully recovered from the Reagan layoffs.

      • BanMe@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Which means they can’t ever do that again, which should have given the power back to the ATCs to simply ignore the law and strike anyway.

        Even Trump can’t make new ATCs appear out of thin air.

        • arrow74@lemmy.zip
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          14 hours ago

          Well that’s the thing, just like Reagan, he can use the military to temporarily replace them.

          Military airfields have the same procedures

          • Maeve@kbin.earth
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            5 hours ago

            Then they should do that so they earn pay more honestly than invading people at home and abroad.

            • arrow74@lemmy.zip
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              3 hours ago

              Many do, but you don’t understand that once you sign up for the military you are trapped in it for a while.

              Also I generally don’t try to hate the individual that much. We all know the US military is designed to target the most impoverished and desperate in our society to feed them to the war machine. There are many places in the United States where the only way to escape poverty is the military. This is intentional, it creates the illusion of a “volunteer” military and frankly people care less when poor people die.

              • Maeve@kbin.earth
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                2 hours ago

                SMH. You referenced Reagan, as in the US administration. That’s who I referenced.

                • arrow74@lemmy.zip
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                  54 minutes ago

                  What? You’re suggesting that Reagan should have left the presidency to be a full time air traffic controller? Or are we talking about soldiers from the 80s?

                  I thought it was pretty clear we were talking about modern day America and using examples from the past to demonstrate the options that Trump could use

    • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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      20 hours ago

      Nah they still have the union, but it’s illegal for them to strike so it’s pretty toothless.