The following is excerpted from 22 April 2013 article by American Shipper.
Shippers should expect delays receiving air cargo moving through major airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York after the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday began to furlough air traffic controllers as promised to make good on forced budget cuts that hit the entire government in March.
… The airline industry on Friday sued the federal government to stop the furloughs.
DOT officials said Thursday they had no choice but to cut air traffic control staff by 10 percent to meet the FAA's requirement to save 5 percent of its budget, or $637 million, through the end of September. The FAA has about 47,000 employees, including 15,000 air traffic controllers.
Some departments such as Homeland Security recently won a partial reprieve in the six-month budget passed by Congress earlier this month which allowed them more flexibility in how to structure the across-the-board cuts. Homeland Security officials lifted a ban on overtime pay and canceled scheduled furloughs for Customs officers at ports of entry so as not to impact international trade and travel...
This article is available in its entirety at: http://www.americanshipper.com/Main/News/FAA_furloughs_kick_in_reducing_airport_capacity_53635.aspx?taxonomy=Regulatory1 (subscription may be required.)