Continued staffing shortages in air traffic control facilities are causing delays at airports as the government shutdown nears the one-month mark.

A surge in callouts among air traffic controllers "is straining staffing levels" at multiple airports across the U.S. -- including in the New York City area where 80% of controllers are absent, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday evening.

The ongoing government shutdown has created a cascading crisis in America’s skies, with unpaid air traffic controllers calling in sick at unprecedented rates and causing thousands of flight delays across the country.

It's putting stress on people. It's not fair to those people. It's also putting stress on the economy,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said.

A study by the experts at SkyRefund revealed that American Airlines was the most likely to cancel your flight, with the analysis showing that 2.69% of flights were canceled during the first six months of 2025. Taking second place was Frontier Airlines, with 1.85% of flights canceled.

A United Airlines flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport clipped another United plane while taxiing at LaGuardia Airport on Friday evening, officials confirmed. No injuries were reported.

In this week’s air travel news, the Transportation Department is cracking down on Mexican carriers’ transborder operations in a continuing spat over U.S. airlines’ access to Mexico City’s main airport;

A United Airlines spokesperson said both planes returned to their gates and passengers deplaned normally. No injuries were reported.