More than 3.2 million US air passengers impacted by government shutdown, airline group says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -More than 3.2 million U.S. airline passengers have been impacted by delays or cancellations stemming from air traffic controller staffing issues since a government shutdown began on October 1, an airline group said on Monday.

Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and other major carriers, said 16% of delays were because of staffing issues in October, up from the typical 5% before the shutdown.

More than 300,000 passengers alone were impacted on Friday, the single-worst day since the shutdown began, the group added.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)