Did Staff Woes Stall Laguardia Flights?

July 20, 2008— -- When all flights scheduled to fly into New York's Laguardia Airport were postponed for more than an hour Friday evening, to most travelers it might have seemed like business as usual.

But according to the air traffic controllers union, the delays were the result of an advisory issued by the Federal Aviation Administration because of understaffing in the control towers.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Doug Church said the FAA issued an advisory Friday afternoon to airports and airport management facilities nationwide that prevented all flights from landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York from 7:40 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., due to understaffing of air traffic controllers at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, which oversees all air traffic into New York airports and is staffed by the FAA.

The advisory can be found on the FAA's Web site.

Dean Iacopelli, air traffic controller and NATCA representative at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, emailed ABC News a copy of an "Airport Status Information" notice he obtained also from the FAA Web site on Friday.

It read: "Due to OTHER / STAFFING, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving La Guardia Airport, New York, NY (LGA)."

FAA communications director Lynn Tierney said she was not aware of any such advisory or delay due to staffing issues, but that she would double check. She said, however, she was aware of a ground delay due to other reasons -- one in Newark due to "wind," which she said delayed Republican presidential contender John McCain's plane from Michigan, and another one due to "traffic" at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Arlene Salac, FAA spokeswoman for all eastern air traffic, said that "all delays we experienced were because of weather and volume" -- not because of inadequate staffing.

Salac confirmed that one air traffic controller scheduled to work Friday evening at Laguardia called in sick, bringing the number of controllers working that shift to eight. She said eight to 10 air traffic controllers are typically on duty at a time.