Of all the replies a pilot doesn't want to hear when they radio air traffic control, "the tower is closed due to staffing" is probably pretty high on the list.

But that's apparently what happened Monday at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California as a pilot was preparing for takeoff and looking to co-ordinate his departure, according to audio recorded by LiveATC.net and reported on by CNN .

Burbank's air traffic control tower was temporarily unstaffed Monday, one of many incidents in U.S. airports caused by staffing shortages during the government's shutdown . In an advisory, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said flights at the Burbank airport were delayed by about two hours because of "staffing," noting that its tower had "zero" air traffic controllers.

An FAA s

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