The US government shut down has caused flight delays and cancellations at the Hollywood Burbank Airport and others across the US, as a shortage of air traffic controllers worsens. Air traffic control at the southern California airport was unmanned for nearly six hours and remotely managed due to staffing shortages. On Monday, staffing issues affected flights at Newark, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Burbank Airport, causing anywhere from 40-minute to 60-minute delays, according to flight data. The shutdown began on 1 October after Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to agree on resolving a budget dispute. It’s unclear when they will be able to break the deadlock in Congress. Some 40% of the federal workforce – about 750,000 people – are expected to be put on unpaid leave during the shutdown while essential government workers are expected to keep working without pay.
