‘Misery Map’ Shows US Airport Flight Delays and Cancellations

The government shutdown is wreaking havoc on air travel — and an online “Misery Map” gives a bird’s-eye view into which major US airports are suffering the most.

The government shutdown is straining US air travel, with air traffic controller shortages triggering hundreds of flight delays nationwide. Major airports like LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport faced cascading disruptions on Friday as controllers, who are working without pay, called out of work.

Flight Aware, a website that provides real-time and historical flight tracking data, has a “Misery Map” that documents the delays and cancellations at 17 major US airports since October 30.

Flight Aware’s “Misery Map”

Looking at all US airports, including smaller regional hubs, there have been more than 9,000 flight delays into, out of, or within the US since Friday, and over 650 cancellations, with 2,800 delays and nearly 160 cancellations occurring before 4pm ET on Saturday.

Airports in major metro hubs, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Denver International Airport, claimed the top three spots on the misery index on Saturday, with a total of 153, 83, and 86 delays, respectively.

Data from aviation analytics company Cirium, for Thursday and Friday morning, showed that airports in the metro New York area, including LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark, have seen the highest ratio of canceled flights to scheduled flights.

Cirium said disruptions improved on Saturday and were above average, but noted there are fewer overall flights on Saturdays. As of 4 p.m. ET, the FAA has 14 staffing advisories that cover towers and other ATC facilities.

Flights that do take off might be longer because of reroutes around understaffed centers.

Since the government shutdown began on October 1, airports nationwide have faced delays and disruptions caused by a shortage of certified air traffic controllers — all of whom are working without pay.

Controllers got partial pay during the first weeks of the shutdown — but on October 28, their paychecks stopped. Airline pilots and flight attendants have been trying to provide the bare necessities, including sending free food to controllers at airports across the country.

On Friday evening, the FAA posted a statement on the shortage to X.

“Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay for weeks, ensuring the safety of more than 50,000 daily operations across the national airspace system (NAS).”

It urged the administration to end the shutdown, saying, “The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a labor union for air traffic controllers, meanwhile, posted a statement on its website saying that it does not “condone any federal employees participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS.”

To its members, which include approximately 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation-safety related workers across country, it said on its website, “At this critical juncture, it is more important than ever that we rise to the occasion and continue delivering the consistent, high-level of public service we provide every day.”

Earlier this week, Nick Daniels, president of NATCA, also requested that lawmakers pass a short-term spending bill to put a stop to the shutdown.

“Whatever the means are, whatever the way that they get it done, that’s what the American people deserve, that’s what the flying public deserves and especially our air traffic controllers,” Daniels said in a press conference with reporters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport early Tuesday.

NATCA and Daniels did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for a comment, sent outside normal working hours.