New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Six hours without a staffed tower at a busy L.A. hub, a remote radar room kept planes moving, the gap in America's aviation staffing was plain to see.

California - The control tower at Hollywood Burbank Airport went quiet, then stayed that way for hours. From about 4:15 p.m. until 10 p.m. local time, there were no controllers in the glass room that usually choreographs every takeoff and landing. Flights still moved. Pilots still flew. But the empty tower became the image that explained a federal impasse better than any floor speech. The Federal Aviation Administration shifted responsibility for the airspace to its radar facility in San Diego, a move the system is built to allow. For passengers, the experience transla...