The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a ground stop at New York's LaGuardia airport, but flight delays are still expected at several airports, including in Tampa, due to staffing issues with air traffic control.
CBS New York confirmed delays are related to the ongoing government shutdown.
According to CBS News, there are delays at Newark, Philadelphia and Tampa due to staff shortages at air traffic control centers in Washington and Jacksonville that regulate planes flying at higher altitudes between airports. In response, the FAA is allowing fewer planes into the air at a time along some routes.
Only flights along the east coast are currently being affected.
A spokesperson for Tampa International Airport said all its air traffic control staff members were there. But, that's actually a separate situation.
The FAA confirmed there would still be delays in the Tampa Bay area because it's the air traffic controllers based in Washington and Jacksonville who are determining our far apart planes are flying and making decisions that would have ripple effects unrelated to if an airport was fully staffed locally.
“We have experienced a slight increase in sick leave at two air traffic control facilities affecting New York and Florida," the FAA wrote in a statement to CBS News. "As with severe storms, we will adjust operations to a safe rate to match available controller resources."
The FAA said it was trying to lessen the impact by "augmenting staffing, rerouting traffic, and increasing spacing between aircraft."
Federal officials said the overall impact has been minimal.
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