The ongoing government shutdown has disrupted flights at times and put pressure on air traffic controllers, who are working without pay.
On Friday night, airports in Phoenix, Houston and San Diego reported delays due to staffing issues, and the Federal Aviation Administration warned that airports in the New York area, Dallas and Philadelphia could also experience staffing issues.
A day earlier, flights were delayed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, New Jersey’s Newark Airport and Washington’s Reagan National Airport due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The number of domestic flight delays for any reason hovered around 4,000 a day at the beginning of the week, but jumped to 6,158 on Thursday, according to FlightAware.com.
There is a critical shortage of air traffic controllers at many FAA facilities, where even a few absences can cause chaos, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said more air traffic controllers are taking sick leave. since the shutdown began. While there was a lot of disruption at airports across the country in the early days of the shutdown, there haven’t been as many problems in recent weeks.
Ms Duffy said the disruption and delays will only get worse next week when Tuesday’s payday arrives, and “their pay will be slashed to zero”. He said air traffic controllers have said they are worried about how they will pay their tolls and are unhappy about the closure.
“I think the stress level that air traffic controllers are currently experiencing is unacceptable,” he said at a news conference Friday at Philadelphia International Airport.
Mr Duffy said the closure had a real impact, with some students at the controller academy deciding to leave the profession because they didn’t want to work in a job that didn’t pay them.
Training takes years, which will only make it harder for the FAA to hire enough air traffic controllers to fill the gap. He said there was only a week or two left before the government ran out of money to pay academy students.
“We’re hearing from the Academy in Oklahoma City right now that some of the young controllers in the Academy and some of the guys who were given spots in the next class of the Academy are out on bail. They’re going to leave,” Duffy said. Said. “They’re asking themselves, ‘Why would I want to work in a profession where I could work so hard and potentially not get paid for my services?'”
Nick Daniels, head of the air traffic controllers union, joined Duffy. He said some controllers have taken on side jobs, such as delivering for DoorDash or driving for Uber, to help pay the bills.
“As this shutdown continues, air traffic controllers are not being paid for the important work they do every day, leading to unnecessary distractions,” Daniels said. “They can’t focus 100% on their work, so this system becomes less secure. Every day this shutdown continues, we’re going to be less safe tomorrow than we are today.”
Airlines and airports across the country have begun purchasing meals for air traffic controllers and helping coordinate with food banks and other services to get them through the shutdown.
The biggest concern is new controllers who earn less than $50,000. But even experienced controllers who work six days a week and make well over six figures may not have much wiggle room on their budget and may be living paycheck to paycheck. Daniels said it’s unfair that controllers are faced with impossible choices about whether to pay rent, childcare or groceries.
Duffy said air traffic controllers who abused sick time during the shutdown could be fired.
Republicans and Democrats have been unable to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown that began on October 1. Democrats are demanding that measures be taken to avoid soaring health insurance premiums for many Americans, which are expected to take effect under the Republican spending law adopted this summer. Republicans have said they will only negotiate after the government shutdown ends.
Airlines and the industry’s main unions are asking Congress to strike a deal to end the shutdown.
Airline Pilots Association President Col. Jason Ambrosi said in a message to lawmakers that he is concerned about air traffic controllers and other federal employees.
“The safety of millions of passengers and tens of thousands of tons of cargo is in the hands of workers. Worrying about how to make mortgage payments or day care payments is unnecessary additional stress for them,” Ambrosi said. Said.
Democrats are calling on Republicans to negotiate an end to the government shutdown. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, placed the blame on Democrats.
“While our aviation systems operated safely during the shutdown, it has placed an incredibly unnecessary burden on our systems, air traffic controllers, flight crews, and many other aviation professionals,” Graves said.
Funk writes for The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Rio Yamat contributed to this report.
