WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. air travel turmoil

deepened as nearly 7,000 flights were delayed nationwide on

Monday, with air traffic controller absences surging as the

federal government shutdown reached its 27th day.

The Federal Aviation Administration cited staffing shortages

and imposed ground delay programs affecting Newark Airport in

New Jersey, Austin Airport in Texas and Dallas Fort Worth

International Airport on Monday. Flights in the southeast were

delayed earlier because of significant staffing shortages at the

Atlanta Terminal Radar Approach Control.

Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000

Transportation Security Administration officers must work

without pay after a budget impasse between Republican President

Donald Trump and congressional Democrats triggered the shutdown.

The Trump administration has warned flight disruptions will

increase as controllers miss their first full paycheck on

Tuesday.

More than 8,800 flights were delayed on Sunday.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) had 47%, or 2,089, of its flights

delayed on Sunday, while American Airlines ( AAL ) had 1,277, or

36%, of its flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a

flight-tracking website. United Airlines had 27%, or

807, of its flights delayed and Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) had 21%,

or 725, of its flights delayed.

On Monday, Southwest ( LUV ) had 34% of flights delayed, American

29%, Delta 22% and United Airlines 19% as of 11:30 p.m. ET (0330

GMT), according to FlightAware.

A U.S. Department of Transportation official said 44% of

Sunday's delays stemmed from controller absences - up sharply

from the usual 5%.

The mounting delays and cancellations are fueling public

frustration and intensifying scrutiny of the shutdown's impact,

raising pressure on lawmakers to resolve it.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was in Cleveland meeting

with controllers on Monday, while the National Air Traffic

Controllers Association union plans events at numerous airports

on Tuesday to highlight the first missed paycheck.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of

targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory

overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.

In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by

controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks,

extending wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities

were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington.