January 25, 2019

Incoming Flights to LaGuardia Airport in New York Halted Amid Shutdown

The FAA cited staff shortages for the extraordinary move.

Frank Franklin II/AP

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Update (1/25/2019, 11:25 a.m. ET): Ground stops have been lifted but significant delays remain, the FAA said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has stopped flights into LaGuardia Airport in New York City due to major staff shortages amid the partial government shutdown.

The startling announcement came after unions representing aviation workers released a statement Wednesday warning that the shutdown could pose serious safety risks for its members and travelers. “In our risk-averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break,” the statement read.

This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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