How to Use sick call in a Sentence

sick call

noun
  • As Monday's events show, even a small number of sick calls can make a big impact.
    — Joel Rose, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The airport reported minimal sick calls over the last month.
    — Brandon Truitt, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Food pantries are opening up at airports across the country as TSA sick calls have more than doubled during the shutdown.
    — Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Requiring weekly reporting on sick call requests and intake screenings.
    — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The cause of the staffing problems was not immediately known, but the Department of Transportation reported an increase in sick calls by air traffic controllers since the start of the shutdown.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
  • During the 2018–2019 shutdown, higher sick call rates among TSA staff caused long lines and flight delays nationwide.
    — Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Reports of the staffing shortfalls came hours after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there has been a slight increase in sick calls since the government shutdown began on Wednesday.
    — Jay Blackman, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2025
  • A week into the government shutdown, flight delays and cancellations are starting to climb as sick calls involving air traffic controllers leave a number of airport towers and control facilities without enough staff to properly handle all flights.
    — Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
  • During shutdowns, controllers and TSA officers are deemed essential, barred from striking and required to work while pay is delayed, conditions that reliably produce spikes in sick calls and unscheduled leave.
    — Imran Khalid, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
  • A week into the government shutdown, flight delays and cancellations started to climb as sick calls involving air traffic controllers left a number of airport towers and control facilities short or without enough staff to properly handle all flights.
    — Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 29 Dec. 2025
  • As the partial government shutdown drags on, officials warn sick calls from Transportation Security Administration officers could force some airports to close.
    — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Lines at security checkpoints in airports across the country have increased in recent days, amid several hundred resignations and sick calls among TSA employees, who have been working without pay due to the partial shutdown.
    — CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026
  • During the last government shutdown in 2019, air traffic controllers reported higher-than-normal sick calls, which caused significant delays at major airports on the East Coast and likely contributed to the end of the shutdown.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday at Newark International Airport that there had been a slight increase in sick calls since the government shutdown began nearly a week ago.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Despite having low levels of sick calls during the partial government shutdown, the unpaid work appears to have taken a toll on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Boston's Logan Airport.
    — Brandon Truitt, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sick call.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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