REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File PhotoUS air travel turmoil deepened as nearly 7,000 flights were delayed nationwide on Monday, with air traffic controller absences surging as the federal government shutdown reached its 27th day. Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay after a budget impasse between Republican President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats triggered the shutdown. Southwest Airlines had 47%, or 2,089, of its flights delayed on Sunday, while American Airlines had 1,277, or 36%, of its flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. United Airlines had 27%, or 807, of its flights delayed and Delta Air Lines had 21%, or 725, of its flights delayed. 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.
