Hollywood Burbank Airport’s control tower went dark around 4:15 p.m. local time Monday after no controllers were on duty amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, according to ABC7 Los Angeles and FAA data. The agency confirmed that while the tower itself was unstaffed, the Southern California TRACON facility assumed responsibility for the Class C airspace, managing arrivals, departures, and sequencing for the surrounding terminal area.
Pilots were advised to use published procedures for non-towered operations on Burbank’s runways 8 and 15, maintaining self-announcing calls on the CTAF when below TRACON coverage.
The tower is expected to be staffed again around 10 p.m. local time.
FlightAware data shows average departure delays exceeding two hours. Burbank joins a growing list of ATC facilities facing staffing woes on Monday, including towers in Denver and Phoenix. A handful of TRACONs and enroute facilities are also reporting staffing-related issues.
During a press conference earlier in the day, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the ongoing shutdown could snarl flights, noting an uptick in air traffic controller absenteeism.
I flew on United on 10/7 from Peoria to Denver. Arrived on time with no issues. I then flew my plane from BJC to Texas IFR at FL290 with no delays or issues. The people who handled the flights were their usual professional operators.
And they’re doing it without pay, and with looming threats they may not receive back pay after the shut down based on undefined factors. The whole thing is absurd.
No mention of the fact that the reason the tower was unstaffed was because the controllers called in sick. It’s been less than a week since the shutdown and I doubt they have even missed a paycheck yet. They are also going to get back pay once the shutdown is over. This is really a mini job action because controllers feel like they are being treated like crap, like they have been since the PATCO strike in 1981. It’s kind of ironic that if more controllers call in sick it will probably force an end to the government shutdown. Then they will go back to work and start being treated like crap again.
Keyword: Feel. ATC feels they’re treated like crap! Well, thats CRAP. Its a job. Just do youre job. Calling in fake sick days isnt doing your job! ATC like many other gov’mint jobs are pampered far too much. Dont wanna work, leave. I pay your wage…
And you know its a “fake” sick day how?
Dont all union workers know?