Trump Admin Sounds Alarm Over Risk of Flight Delays as Controllers Set to Miss Paycheck

The White House on Thursday warned that the ongoing government shutdown, now on day 23, could cause delays for air travel as the holiday season approaches and as air traffic controllers are set to miss their first full paycheck.

“We fear there will be significant flight delays, disruptions and cancellations in major airports across the country this holiday season,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press conference Thursday. “If Democrats continue to shut down the government, they will also be shutting down American air travel.”

The issues arise amid ongoing and increasing truancies in the aviation industry, raising the prospect of understaffing coming to a head.

At present, approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are still working, since they are considered essential, without being paid.

“I can’t guarantee you that your flight will be on time. I can’t guarantee you that your flight’s not going to be canceled. It’s going to depend on our air traffic controllers coming into work every single day,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a Capitol Hill press conference, urging controllers to keep working.

Oct. 28 will mark the controllers’ first missed paycheck, which is expected to cause more absences among workers.

Duffy told Fox Business on Oct. 9 that those who do not show up for work during the shutdown would be dismissed, calling them “problem children.”

“We need the best and the brightest, the dedicated controllers,” Duffy said.

Flight disruptions are on the rise amid increased absences among air traffic controllers, with no-shows responsible for 53 percent of delays last week, up from the normal 5 percent level.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 5,800 delayed flights, with concentrations in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and Newark, New Jersey. Duffy, commenting to reporters on Oct. 19, acknowledged mounting sick days taken by controllers, worsening tower staffing issues, and delays.

Air traffic control staffing shortages are causing delays in travel at airports in New York, Washington, Newark, and Houston, the FAA said on Thursday.

The FAA reported staffing problems at 10 different locations and implemented ground stops for Houston Bush and Newark airports. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport departures were delayed on average 31 minutes, while New York LaGuardia faced an average delay of 62 minutes.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said that some traffick controllers are now working second jobs due to lack of income. He also accused Democrats of a partisan standoff after a GOP-backed stopgap funding bill that would extend funding at the current level and reopen the government failed in the Senate multiple times.

“These men and women have one of the most stressful jobs in America. They cannot be 99.5% accurate, or 99.9% accurate. They have to be 100% accurate, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Johnson said at the press conference alongside Duffy.

“And now they’re being forced to work longer hours, take on multiple jobs, and maintain the same level of excellence, all while Democrats hold their paychecks hostage.”

Key dates that could add pressure to open the federal government are on the horizon. The Senate has discussed measures to secure funds to pay essential staff during the shutdown to avoid a further decline in morale and attendance, but no measure has passed the Senate.

Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extending health-care subsidies for Affordable Care Act enrollees, which will expire at the end of the year, in an attempt to avoid skyrocketing premiums. Republicans said that the demands should be negotiated after the government reopens and should not be a condition for ending the shutdown.

The current shutdown could go on longer than the 35-day record set in 2019. The FAA was already short about 3,500 controllers, requiring current staff to work mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks even ahead of the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1.

Reuters contributed to this report.