Frustrated Pilot Tells Passengers to 'Call Your Senators,' Blasts Gov't Shutdown, on Video

A fed-up pilot snapped in frustration recently -- blasting the endless flight delays as the federal government shutdown grinds on ... and in a bipartisan appeal, he called on passengers to take action.

In a viral TikTok posted Sunday by a passenger flying out of NYC’s LaGuardia to Dallas, chaos hit a new level -- TSA lines took 2 hours to get through, this flight was delayed another 2 hours, and then they were stuck on the runway for 2 more ... until the pilot stormed out, telling everyone to call their senators and raise hell 'cause the shutdown’s costing everyone their precious time, and the airlines millions of dollars.

The pilot addresses the cabin in person, telling passengers ... "I don't really care what your political persuasion is ... but you should really call your senators." He vented his frustration, saying with 30 planes ahead of them, they were stuck burning cash and time on the tarmac ... and that backlog just keeps snowballing through the whole system. And he broke down some details for everyone on board.

The unidentified pilot said the airlines are barely running at 4% capacity ... and warned that by next week, that number will jump to 10% ... meaning already-lengthy delays could double. A national shortage of air-traffic controllers was already an issue before they were forced to work without pay during the shutdown.

With the government shutdown, it’s clear we need some real leadership -- or as our Harvey Levin puts it, time for his "OWTA" movement ... short for Out With Their Asses!