After midnight on the 4th (local time), the U.S. federal government shutdown (temporary work stoppage) will effectively set the longest record. Amid this, the Donald Trump administration warned that flight operations could be halted.
According to CNN, U.S. Transportation Minister Shawn Duffy said at a press conference that day, "Democrats, one week from today there will be tremendous chaos," adding, "There will be large-scale flight delays and cancellations, and we may have to close some airspace due to a shortage of controllers."
Air traffic controllers, along with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, are considered essential personnel and must work during the shutdown without pay. In the early days of the shutdown, some pay was issued due to the biweekly payroll schedule, but since last week they have been working entirely without pay. About 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently not receiving pay because of the shutdown.
Minister Duffy said controllers can hardly endure two missed paychecks. He said, "I can't just find money and pay salaries to controllers," and added, "Young people have to choose. 'Will you choose a job where a shutdown could happen and you might not get paid?' This uncertainty is affecting recruitment as well."
As the period of unpaid work during the shutdown grows, more employees across U.S. airports are taking leave or failing to report for work. As a result, there is currently a shortage of about 2,000 to 3,000 controllers. According to the flight-tracking site FlightAware, as of the afternoon of the 4th, more than 1,800 domestic, arriving, and departing flights in the United States were delayed and more than 50 were canceled.
Minister Duffy reiterated that if the airspace is deemed unsafe, it will have to be closed. He said, "If we do not have enough controllers to manage the skies effectively and safely, we have no choice but to delay or cancel flights, or ask airlines to cancel," adding, "It is not honest to say that this closure does not introduce more risk into the system. More risk is entering the system."
In fact, there have been past cases where ground operations at airports were halted due to staff shortages caused by a shutdown. On Jan. 25, 2019, during the first Trump administration, operations at New York's LaGuardia Airport were temporarily suspended when 10 air traffic controllers collectively failed to report for work. The incident became a decisive moment that led President Trump to sit at the bargaining table with political leaders.
As absences among unpaid TSA employees increase, delays are occurring in airport entry and exit procedures. Earlier, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport warned last month that long lines could form due to staffing shortages, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston said this week that security screening wait times could reach up to 3 hours.
Experts also note that while flying itself is possible during a shutdown, the longer it lasts, the more the safety of the aviation system deteriorates. National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Nick Daniels said in a CNN interview on the 3rd, "If this situation repeats every day, tomorrow will be less safe than today," adding, "I myself go to work thinking only, 'How will I pay the rent?'"