US shutdown nears 1-month mark, threatening flights and food aid

With the US government shutdown stumbling towards the one-month mark, the effects of the stand-off between Republicans and Democrats were being felt further away from the Capitol, as flights began to back up and food aid was drying up.

US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy warned that travellers will face more flight delays and cancellations in the coming weeks as the continuing shutdown exacerbates the air traffic controller staffing crunch.

“What I see coming forward, as we get to Monday, tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, that you’re going to see more staffing shortages in towers, which means you’re going to see more delays, more cancellations,” Duffy told Fox News on Sunday.

Flights from Los Angeles to Oakland, California were halted for nearly two hours on Sunday morning because of staffing issues from furloughed air traffic controllers.

And the US Agriculture Department announced that as of November 1, it would no longer send out food aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), popularly known as food stamps, to low-income Americans.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the notice on the department’s website said, going on to blame Democrats for the shutdown.