WASHINGTON — Arriving flights into New York-area airports were delayed by close to three hours yesterday, one day after federal budget cuts forced air-traffic controllers to take unpaid days off.
The Federal Aviation Administration Web site yesterday clocked arrival delays to John F. Kennedy Airport at 2 hours and 43 minutes. La Guardia Airport experienced delays of 1 hour and 43 minutes for incoming flights while Newark Airport recorded pauses of up to 1 hour and 23 minutes.
“The FAA is experiencing staffing challenges at New York Center,” the FAA said in a statement. “Controllers will space planes farther apart so they can manage traffic with current staff, which will lead to delays at airports including New York’s LaGuardia Airport.”
Some of the delays yesterday were compounded by high winds at Newark and La Guardia while problems at JFK were coupled with construction on the taxi runways.
“It’s hard to get a gauge on how much is due to staffing,” said Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The FAA site showed delays on departing flights from New York to Charlotte yesterday at 22 minutes.
Due to government spending cuts that forced the FAA to reduce its budget by $637 million, the agency’s 15,000 air-traffic controllers are forced to take off one unpaid day every 10 days, reducing the number of controllers by 1,500 a day across the country.
The staffing-related delays at New York regional airports started Sunday night, when the furloughs took place.
Inbound flights to JFK were hampered by 70 minutes while La Guardia reported 74-minute delays for inbound flights and 37 minutes for outgoing planes.
The FAA has said that planes will have to take off and land less frequently so as not to overload the remaining controllers on duty. The cutback is expected to cost New York about 60 to 80 controllers a day across the state.
The Air Line Pilots Association union sued the FAA Friday to try to stop the furloughs. The group estimates that one in three passengers will be affected by delays and the case is expected to be heard this week.
Passengers can anticipate increasing delays.
“Travelers can expect to see a wide range of delays that will change throughout the day depending on staffing and weather-related issues,” the FAA said.
Additional reporting by Philip Messing