airports

Air traffic controller staffing shortages, including increased employee callouts and missed pay, can lead to higher rates of flight cancellations, reroutings, and the imposition of operational reductions by aviation authorities.

Aviation safety monitoring commonly uses indicators such as aircraft proximity events, runway incursions, and pilot reports about controller responses to assess operational risk and determine whether restrictions are necessary.

The Federal Aviation Administration can impose flight restrictions that bar some private flights, including business jets, from using airports that are operating under commercial flight limits.

Severe weather can compound staffing-related disruptions and lead to additional flight cancellations and delays at affected airports.

The Federal Aviation Administration can require airlines to reduce or cut flights at airports in response to air traffic control staffing issues or related safety concerns.

Air traffic controller staffing shortages are associated with increased flight delays and cancellations at affected airports.

Sex traffickers may transport victims between locations, including to and from airports, as part of facilitating commercial sexual exploitation.

Delays or capacity reductions at some airports can create cascading effects across the wider airline network, causing flight disruptions at other airports.

Government shutdowns can lead to staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities, which can contribute to flight delays and operational disruptions at airports.

When an airport lacks an operational control tower, pilots use a shared radio frequency to self-coordinate traffic and resolve potential conflicts.

Staffing shortages of air traffic controllers can cause major delays to airport operations and flights.

Air traffic control staffing shortages can prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to implement operational measures—such as ground stops, ground delay programs, and limits on arrivals per hour—that can cause multi-hour delays and flight cancellations at affected airports.

Hybrid warfare combines kinetic and non-kinetic methods, and can include attacks on undersea cables, airports, logistics hubs and elections as well as cyber-based aggression designed to be deniable.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) can disrupt airport operations, including causing flights to be grounded and prompting military jets to be scrambled.

Airports and public transit authorities commonly maintain policies that prohibit politically partisan messaging or advertising that endorses or opposes named political parties within their facilities.

Airports typically experience peak passenger volume during morning and evening rush hours, in part because business travelers have a higher propensity to fly on weekdays.

After a government shutdown ends, air travel operations can take several days to about a week to return to normal because authorities must assess air traffic controller staffing at facilities and towers and airlines must restore flights and reopen bookings.

Federal government shutdowns can disrupt air travel and strand travelers at airports.

Long security checkpoint lines can disrupt operations at airports, causing delays and congestion.

Airports can function as operational hubs for air taxi networks by supporting aircraft testing, storage, maintenance, charging, takeoff scheduling, and ground operations.

Heightened military activity or security threats in or around a country's airspace can pose potential risks to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases, and to airports and aircraft on the ground.