Airline delays are not just a result of “having a bad day at the airport.” At this moment in time, they are increasingly becoming the predictable result of a system that is running with way too little slack. The United States government shutdown pushed a fragile air traffic control system beyond its breaking point. On October 27 and 28, delays came close to 7,000 across the country in a single day, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) citing controller absences and staffing shortages at major hubs ranging all across the country, as well as major flow constraints at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
