"It's frustrating:" Flight delays due to government shutdown impact arrivals at General Mitchell Airport
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On Friday morning, several flights arriving at General Mitchell from New York and Pennsylvania were delayed more than an hour.
The delays are being caused by staffing shortages of air traffic controllers and TSA workers. According to CBS News, more than seven percent of TSA agents called out sick on Thursday.
One passenger landed around 10:30 a.m. in Milwaukee from Newark, New Jersey. He said the plane sat on the runway in New Jersey for around 25 minutes before taking off.
“I was worried because I’ve been gone for two weeks and coming back and hearing all the news of the government shutdown made me worry if we were actually going to get back or not,” Milwaukee resident Ryan Dobbe said. “It looks like we made it out just in time.”
A flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport arrived more than an hour late.
"I tend to bring work with me so I can dive into that and be productive," Milwaukee resident Michelle Dauchy said. "But yeah, when you have appointments and things and places to go, it's frustrating."
Passengers said they sat on the tarmac in New York more than an hour.
"My wife and I have twins. They're one-years-old. We each had a baby in our lap so it was particularly difficult to just sit on the runway and have antsy little kids," New York resident Ryan Smith said.
Airport officials urge travelers to check on their flights and get to the airport early.