(AP) — Travelers passing through some of the busiest U.S. airports can expect to learn Thursday whether they’ll see fewer flights as the government shutdown drags into a second month.
The move to reduce flights is intended to keep airspace safe during the shutdown, the agency said. Experts predict that hundreds, if not thousands, of flights could be canceled.
“We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns,” officials noted.
Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began on October 1. Most are working mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.
Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said Wednesday at a news conference. “We can’t ignore it,” he added, noting that even if the shutdown ends before Friday, the FAA wouldn’t automatically resume normal operations until staffing improves and stabilizes.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declined during the news conference to name the cities and airports where air traffic will be slowed, saying they first want to meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.
The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and “forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.
Duffy warned on Tuesday that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss their second full paycheck next week. He said some controllers can cope with missing one paycheck, but not two or more. Some are even struggling to pay for transportation to work.
Staffing shortages can occur both in regional control centers, which manage multiple airports, and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions.
Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary. However, the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.
From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. This figure is likely an undercount and is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.
During weekends from January 1 to September 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers, and facilities monitoring high-altitude traffic that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.
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