WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d close U.S. airspace if officials determined air travel was dangerous, as the government shutdown stretches into its second month.

“If we thought that it was unsafe, we’ll shut the whole airspace down,” Duffy said on Monday in an interview with CNBC. He said that the U.S. isn’t there yet but the shutdown adds more risk to the aviation system.

The Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slow traffic at many airports last week due to rising controller staffing shortages since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.

The disruptions spilled through the weekend, with the FAA temporarily halting flights into Newark Liberty International Airport near New York on Sunday evening because of staffing shortfalls. The problems contributed to 9% of flights at the busy hub being canceled and 36% being delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

More than 3.2 million passengers have grappled with flight cancellations and delays related to staffing since the shutdown started, Airlines for America, a trade group, said on Monday.

The delays throw into question U.S. airlines’ ability to forecast capacity and cash in on the crucial holiday travel period that kicks off in earnest with the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

America’s travel economy has already lost more than $4 billion due to the shutdown, the U.S. Travel Association along with hundreds of other travel-related groups and companies told lawmakers in a letter on Monday.

“With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers,” the letter said.

The FAA said in a social media post that half of the 30 busiest facilities didn’t have enough staff on Friday. Nearly 80% of air traffic controllers were absent at facilities handling flights in the New York area that day, it added.

More than 6,200 U.S. flights were delayed Friday and nearly 500 were canceled, according to data from FlightAware.

Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that there were also slowdowns in Nashville and Orlando on Sunday, with on-time departures below 80%, which is the typical target.

In Orlando, about 70% of flights departed on time and in Nashville the number was 59%. The number of on-time departures at Newark was 56%.

Performance Monday — as of 1:18 p.m. New York time — at major airports across the U.S. has been above average, according to the data.

However, disruptions related to staffing shortages occurred at airports serving Austin and the Dallas area later in the day.

Airports for travelers in the Houston area separately have been experiencing long lines at airport security. One person complained on social media on Sunday about waiting in line for five hours.

Both George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport warned passengers that the problems could continue Tuesday, with wait times potentially exceeding 60 to 75 minutes at the former and 30 minutes at the latter.

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(With assistance from Lauren Dezenski and Mary Schlangenstein.)

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