As many of you know, the United States government shutdown started on October 1. Yet it has racked up enough air travel disruptions that it has become a national punchline. As the shutdown barrels into its second week, our partners at U.S. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), we’re facing an air traffic controller emergency, with an estimated 3,000 controller shortfall. Nearly half of the country’s 30 busiest airports are facing these staffing shortages, leading to increasing concerns about passenger safety and flight delays.
The shutdown has also required tens of thousands of air traffic controllers to work without pay. In reality, at least 11,000 controllers have gotten zero dollars while providing critical services the last two weeks. This combination creates a stressful, fatiguing working environment for air traffic managers. The FAA recently underscored this in their own assessment, where they noted the “immense stress and fatigue” that controllers are experiencing after going 31 days without pay.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened that if the federal government shutdown continues much longer, some U.S. airspace could shut down. He cautioned that the current crisis could cause “massive disruption” to air travel. This anarchy would surely result in massive disruptions for travelers. Americans are paying the price with hour plus long waits in security lines at our country’s major airports. As reports document, airline-caused delays average between one and five hours at airports including New York’s LaGuardia, JFK, San Diego and Houston.
The impact of the shutdown goes well beyond air traffic controllers. The Transportation Security Administration—TSA—has been hit too, with over 50,000 of the officers who screen us at airports going without paychecks. In her remarks, Duffy emphasized the daily difficulties faced by TSA employees. They do everything in their power to uphold their mission, but many are just barely getting by themselves.
“Make no mistake, the longer this goes on, every day these hardworking Americans have bills they have to pay,” – Sean Duffy
As the shutdown drags on, flight wait times have increased. Sunday was especially affected – airlines canceled 1,847 flights and notched 5,897 delays on Sunday, followed a day later by 4,720 Monday delays. By Tuesday afternoon, a whopping 2,565 flights had been delayed into or out of the U.S. so far. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse. Now both sides are blaming each other for the impasse.
Democrats have emphasized that any agreement must include an extension of healthcare tax credits, while Republicans maintain their stance on budgetary spending cuts. This stalemate has created a toxic and highly partisan environment in Washington, with no compromise seemingly possible.
“Choosing chaos every day they refuse to act,” – Donald Trump’s administration
The shutdown is approaching the current record of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, a record 35 days. Consequently, the air travel system is experiencing severe strain. The FAA and TSA further caution that failure to address this situation soon will result in more dire consequences on their workforces. They highlight the unprecedented urgency of addressing the problem now.
“The longer the shutdown goes on, the more severe the impact on our TSA workforce who have expenses they must pay for,” – The TSA