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Air Travel Concerns Mount as Government Shutdown Continues, Controllers Work Without Pay
As the federal government shutdown enters its second week, concerns are mounting over the potential impact on air travel services nationwide. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that delays and disruptions could worsen the longer the shutdown persists, citing an increase in air traffic controllers calling out sick.
The nation’s air traffic controllers, deemed essential federal employees, are required to report for duty without pay during the shutdown. This has led to growing anxiety among the workforce, who face the stress of managing vital air traffic while their own financial stability is jeopardized.
“They have bills,” Secretary Duffy told reporters recently, expressing his unease with the situation. “So now they’re thinking about that at the same time that they’re controlling the airspace…
I don’t like that.” Duffy indicated that if safety issues arise due to staffing concerns, air services could be significantly affected, stating, “If we think there’s issues in the airspace, we will shut it down.
We will close it down, we will delay.”
In response to the escalating situation, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), representing roughly 20,000 members, has urged its workforce to continue performing their duties. The union explicitly warned against any organized job actions that could impact air service capacity, emphasizing that “participation in a job action could result in removal from federal service.”
NATCA underscored the importance of maintaining high levels of public service during this critical period, noting that federal employees are under heightened scrutiny. The union encouraged members to avoid actions that could negatively reflect on them, their union, or their profession.
The current situation is exacerbated by an existing shortage of approximately 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, with many facilities already understaffed and controllers frequently working upwards of 60 hours per week. This pre-existing strain, coupled with the shutdown, raises fears of a critical situation developing.
Historical data from the 2018-2019 government shutdown shows a precedent for such issues, when 10 percent of TSA workers called in sick during the 34-day period.
The shutdown began after the Senate failed to pass stopgap funding measures that would have reopened the government for several weeks, leaving federal agencies in limbo and essential workers without immediate pay.