Transportation Secretary Addresses Potential Airspace Closures

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on Tuesday that if the government shutdown continues, the U.S. may need to restrict some airspace next week.

He placed the blame for the ongoing 35-day shutdown on Congressional Democrats, noting that if the deadlock isn’t resolved by November 11, air travel is likely to be “massively disrupted.” This could lead to numerous flight delays and cancellations, along with potential airspace closures due to a lack of available air traffic controllers.

“It would be disingenuous to say that this shutdown doesn’t inject more risk into the system. There is more risk in the system,” Duffy commented.

For the first time since the shutdown began, air traffic controllers did not receive pay last Tuesday, following a period in mid-October when they received “80 to 90 percent” of their salaries. Duffy mentioned that air traffic controllers would receive an email indicating a $0 pay stub for the following Tuesday.

This situation is forcing controllers into tough financial choices, with some taking on second jobs just to manage basic expenses, according to Duffy. He echoed concerns shared by several controllers, saying, “Many of us can get away with being one paycheck short. Not all, but many of us can. No one can get away with being two paychecks short.”

As of Tuesday, over 2,000 flights within and outside the U.S. had experienced delays, and more than 60 had been canceled, as reported by news agencies.

It’s uncertain exactly how many flights will be impacted by the controller shortage. On October 9, Duffy mentioned that the proportionality of flights delayed due to staffing issues surged from the normal 5 percent to an alarming 53 percent.

In response to the situation, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement indicating that they are “curtailing the flow of flights to some airports to ensure safe operations” amidst the air traffic controller shortage.

Yet, Duffy did acknowledge that attendance among air traffic controllers was “much better than in past shutdowns.” He recalled a similar funding crisis in January 2019, which had resulted in significant flight delays along the East Coast.

On a hopeful note, Duffy expressed confidence that the air travel system would “recover fairly quickly” once the shutdown ends, stating, “The controllers will hopefully start going back to work soon.”