FAA administrator Michael Whitaker has warned of flight delays during the Thanksgiving holiday week due to air traffic controller shortages. Delays most likely will be in the New York City area.
"If we're short on staff, we will slow traffic as necessary to keep the system safe," Whitaker said during a press briefing ahead of the holiday.
AAA has projected a busy week of holiday air travel, with 5.84 million people taking to the skies in the U.S., up from 5.73 million last year.
The FAA said Tuesday will be the most crowded day with more than 50,000 flight operations. Wednesday and Sunday of this week and Monday of next week will be only slightly less busy.
The holiday travel week got off to a smooth start on Monday, with just 68 cancellations of flights within, to or from the U.S., according to FlightAware. Cancellation numbers were also low during the early part of Tuesday. Delay totals have also been in check.
Whitaker said controller shortages are anticipated this week, which would require the FAA to slow the air traffic system over New York.
"We're working diligently to make sure that can happen as efficiently as possible," he said.
The FAA has a goal of hiring 2,000 controllers during the current fiscal year, which ends next September.