The federal government shutdown is being blamed for flight delays Friday at major airports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Orlando and Atlanta due to staffing shortages at critical air traffic control centers.

Flights at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and Philadelphia International airports were delayed Friday morning by less than an hour, on average, according to the FAA. Orlando International and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airports saw similar lags, the agency reported.

Staffing issues at air traffic control centers around Washington and Jacksonville, Florida, caused delays across the Northeast, an official with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

The delays are directly attributable to the partial government shutdown, said Trish Gilbert, executive vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

“You can’t mess with a system that is so integral to the United States,” she told CNN on Friday. “This is reckless, what has been going on with the shutdown.”

The delays appeared to be easing by Friday afternoon as President Donald Trump announced a deal had been struck to reopen the government for three weeks. A White House official said the air traffic delays played a key role in Trump backing down — at least temporarily — from his insistence on border wall funding to reopen the government.

“Planes have to keep flying. This is getting worse and worse,” the official said. “He knows this has to end.” (CNN)

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