NATIONWIDE — The severe disruption to air travel escalated sharply over the weekend as the government shutdown continued to strain air traffic control staffing, leading to the cancellation of over 2,100 flights nationwide on Sunday alone.

This latest figure brings the weekend’s total cancellations to well over 4,600, following 1,024 cancellations on Friday and 1,521 on Saturday. The widespread chaos is a direct result of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limiting flight capacity at 40 major U.S. airports due to persistent staffing shortages.

As the slowdown entered its third day, more than 7,000 flight delays were reported on Sunday, according to FlightAware, adding to the 6,400 delays from the previous day.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a dire warning, stating tha

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