US expects more flight disruptions as government shutdown enters Day 31

Free food is distributed to TSA staff at a mobile pantry during government shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday he expects more flight delays in the coming days as a government shutdown hits its 31st day.

“Coming into this weekend and then the week after, I think you are going to see even more disruptions in the airspace,” Duffy said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”

On Thursday, air traffic control staffing shortages snarled flights at Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)