Travelers walk near the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport as the U.S. government shutdown continues in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Flights at Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. airports were delayed on Thursday due to a shortage of air traffic controllers during the U.S. government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Delays averaged more than two hours at Orlando, 90 minutes at National Airport in Washington and 21 minutes at Dallas, the agency said.

FlightAware, a flight tracking website, said nearly 6,000 flights had been delayed and 1,100 canceled nationwide on Thursday. About 20% of flights were affected at United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, FlightAware said.

Since the government shutdown began on October 1, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers have been required to work without pay. Some are taking second jobs to make ends meet, and the number calling in sick has increased.

The FAA had planned to close Orlando for landings on Thursday night due to insufficient staff but reversed that when it secured enough controllers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said this week that 44% of delays on Sunday and 24% on Monday were caused by air traffic controller absences, compared to 5% on average before the shutdown.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Cynthia Osterman)