Federal budget cuts prompt airport delays

It’s going to be a tough week for some travelers as federal budget cuts lead to major delays at many airports throughout the country.

Some passengers saw delays of 15 minutes or more just one day after the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration began furloughs of air traffic controllers. The FAA says they had no choice but to furlough all 47,000 agency employees, including nearly 15,000 controllers. Each employee will lose one day of work every other week. They also say that this will not impact safety. However, places will have to take off and land less frequently so as to not overload the remaining controllers.

Santa Barbara Airport is not feeling the impact quite yet. However, since most flights go out to one of the major connecting hubs like LAX, San Francisco, Denver and New York, travelers may experience delays there.

NewsChannel 3 Reporter Shirin Rajaee reports.