The flight reductions took effect on Friday — the 38th day of the shutdown, now the longest in US history.
Photo : AP
Flying anywhere for the Thanksgiving holiday is likely to be difficult for millions of Americans, even if the government shutdown ends immediately, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Friday.
Speaking to CNN, Duffy said hundreds of flights could be affected during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year because of staffing shortages among air traffic controllers. The shortages, worsened by the ongoing shutdown, have forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to introduce unprecedented flight reductions.
“So, if the government opens on day one, will I see an immediate response from controllers? No,” Duffy said. “The union is telling me it’s going to take time to get them all back in.”
He added that staffing constraints were unlikely to improve in time for Thanksgiving. “I don’t wish this was the circumstance in which I was dealing with,” he said. “So I imagine, as we see the data change and more controllers come to work, we are as quickly as possible going to take these restrictions away.”
The FAA said on Thursday it would begin cutting the number of flights in “high traffic” parts of the country while the shutdown continues. The flight reductions took effect on Friday — the 38th day of the shutdown, now the longest in US history.
The agency has ordered airlines to reduce flights by 4% at 40 of the country’s busiest airports, with that number expected to rise to 10% by next Friday.
Duffy also told Fox News that reductions of up to 20% were possible at some airports. “I don’t want to see that,” he said.
The affected airports include Chicago O’Hare, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Miami International, and all three major New York-area airports.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the decision was prompted by fatigue among air traffic controllers who have been working without pay since the shutdown began. He added that staffing levels were already low before most federal operations halted.
Air traffic controllers are classified as essential workers and cannot strike, but many are struggling to report for duty. “It’s unprecedented to go through two full paychecks, 37 days, and receive no compensation,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “So it’s not a matter of calling in sick. They’re calling their employer and saying, ‘I don’t have gas. I have not received pay in 37 days. What do you want me to do?'”
