SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego International Airport is already being impacted by what’s happening with air traffic controllers and the government shutdown.
On Thursday morning, the majority of Southwest Airline flights that were set to arrive were delayed.
Things could be much worse starting Friday according to national transportation officials.
Many travelers showing up to the airport are well aware of what’s happening.
“We travel very often and there are times when we are traveling and we’re not sure if there’s gonna be a massive delay like this. We have a short flight today thank god, but, I mean, this is probably gonna add another hour or an hour and a half into our travel arrangements, “ said Kevin Trinh, who is traveling with his family to Scottsdale, Arizona.
According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, it could get chaotic leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.
At a recent news conference, he said 10 percent less of the airspace will be covered by air traffic controllers.
“What we’re finding is that are air traffic controllers because of the financial pressure at home are taking side jobs. They need to put food in the table gas in the car pay their bills,” said Duffy. “By the way, I do not want them to take side jobs. I want them to show up for work. We have asked them to show up for work, but I’m not naïve to understand that they’re trying to figure out how they meet their daily obligations and so because of that we have seen staffing pressures throughout our airspace.”
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