LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Because of the government shutdown, the website FlightAware tracked 4,000 canceled flights this weekend and more than 16,000 delays. The Federal Aviation Administration has reduced flights at dozens of busy airports to deal with a shortage of air traffic controllers who are working without pay. Some have taken on second jobs; others have called in sick. Here's NPR's Joe Hernandez.
JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: At the Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday, many flights were departing and arriving on time, but not all.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: All connections make a U-turn except precheck.
HERNANDEZ: Phil Hicks' (ph) first flight was canceled. He got rebooked, but that one was canceled. Then was rebooked again - his third ticket of the day without ever leaving Philadelphia.
PHIL HICKS: If that don't work, I'm driving.
HERNANDEZ: Hicks said he was preparing to make the two-day drive to West Palm Beach, Florida, because he's leaving from there for Morocco later this week, and he wasn't sure if his latest flight would get canceled just like the others.
HICKS: I don't believe this ticket, but I'm going to gas my truck up, and I'll take that trip if I have to.
HERNANDEZ: Seth Alpert's (ph) flight back to Columbus, Ohio, was delayed by two hours. He wasn't sure what would happen, so he rented a car just in case.
SETH ALPERT: We'll see. The incoming flight says it's on time or a few minutes delayed, so, you know, 50-50.
HERNANDEZ: Airports across the country were bogged down with disruptions Sunday as the FAA reduced traffic by about 4% at 40 airports. The agency plans to ramp up their reductions to 10% later in the week. It's unclear when the shutdown will end but would-be-flyer Phil Hicks said he thinks Congress should work harder to reopen the government.
HICKS: I think the little crybabies need to get together and figure it out. You know what I mean? People elect them to do a job. Do your damn job.
HERNANDEZ: Meanwhile, the air traffic controllers who are on the job will miss their second full paycheck this week as the longest U.S. government shutdown in history drags on. Joe Hernandez, NPR News, Philadelphia.
(SOUNDBITE OF WE CAME FROM THE NORTH'S "BORDER MONUMENT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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