Air traffic in the U.S. could �slow to a trickle� if the federal government shutdown lingers into the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday season, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week ordered flight cuts at the nation�s busiest airports as some air traffic controllers, who have gone unpaid for nearly a month, have stopped showing up for work.
The reductions started Friday at 4% and will increase to 10% by Nov. 14. They are in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time and will impact all commercial airlines.
On Sunday, 1,375 flights were canceled as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware. That follows more than 1,500 cancellations on Saturday.
Duffy has said additional flight cuts � perhaps up to 20% � might be needed, particularly after controllers receive no pay for a second straight pay period.
�More controllers aren�t coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck,� Duffy told �Fox News Sunday.”
And he prepared Americans for what they could face during the busy Thanksgiving holiday.
�As I look two weeks out, as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel, I think what�s going to happen is you�re going to have air travel slow to a trickle as everyone wants to travel to see their families,� Duffy said.
With �very few� controllers working, “you�ll have a few flights taking off and landing” and thousands of cancellations, he said.
�You�re going to have massive disruption. I think a lot of angry Americans. I think we have to be honest about where this is going. It doesn�t get better,� Duffy said. “It gets worse until these air traffic controllers are going to be paid.�
The government has been short of air traffic controllers for years, and multiple presidential administrations have tried to convince retirement-age controllers to remain on the job. Duffy said the shutdown has exacerbated the problem, leading some air traffic controllers to speed up their retirements.
�Up to 15 or 20 a day are retiring,� Duffy said on CNN.
Duffy said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texted him with an offer to lend military air traffic controllers, but it�s unclear whether the staff is certified to work on civilian systems.
Duffy denied Democratic charges that the flight cancellations are a political tactic, saying they were necessary due to increasing near-misses from an overtaxed system.
�I needed to take action to keep people safe,� Duffy said. �I�m doing what I can in a mess that Democrats have put in my lap.�
(AP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Tragically this shall all end when there is a serious air crash from air-controller mistake due to staffing shortage, and immediately there shall be such a massive fight in congress forcing the government to reopen immediately.
Exactly like the dangerous cross road, which never had a traffic light, until the tragic car crash killing an innocent person, following which a traffic light goes up immediately.
Mark my word on this one.