People walk through Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on October 8, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Washington —

As the ninth day of the government shutdown wears on, the focus is on how many air traffic controllers show up to work tonight.

In Fort Worth, Texas, a facility that controls flights enroute through the region reported a staffing shortage for an hour Thursday afternoon, according to a publicly available operations plan.

It was the first report of staffing problems for the day.

Wednesday six Federal Aviation Administration facilities had staffing shortages, including the control towers at Denver International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where about a quarter of the flights were delayed.

“It’s a small fraction of people who do

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