Flight delays are starting to snarl air travel in the United States. It's one sign that the U.S. government shutdown that began Oct. 1, when Congress failed to pass a funding bill is beginning to take a toll on critical infrastructure. An air traffic control tower went dark Tuesday evening at Nashville International Airport due to staffing shortages with news reports of airports in Philadelphia and Chicago also experiencing shortages last night. The Nashville tower was the second such closure in a week, with the first at Los Angeles-area Hollywood Burbank airport.
FlightAware, which tracks flight delays and cancellations, logged nearly 3,600 delays within the U.S. on Tuesday, but that was significantly lower than the 6,100-plus delays logged on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
at a press conference in Newark on Monday said that the agency is tracking sick
calls made by air traffic controllers since the U.S. government shutdown that started Oct. 1. He said there has been "a slight uptick
in sick calls, and then you'll see delays that come from that."
Duffy was quick to note that safety remains the top
priority. "I want to be clear," he said. "Are [air traffic
controllers] more stressed in our towers? Yes. Is our airspace unsafe? No. … If
we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow [of air traffic] with a
rate that is safe for the American people. We are managing that and following
that."
Air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and
are required to show up to work. The issue is, if the government shutdown
continues, they won't get their next paycheck until the government is funded
again. That has caused added stress to an already stressful job, and some air
traffic controllers have considered taking another job, such as driving for
Uber, to help make ends meet during this period, Duffy said.
"We need to bring this shutdown to a close so the [U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration] and the committed aviation safety
professionals can put this distraction behind us and completely focus on their
vital work," National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Nick
Daniels said at the press conference.
NATCA also noted in a statement on its website that the
union "does not endorse, support, or condone any federal employees
participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects
the capacity of the [National Airspace System]. … Participating in a job action
could result in removal from federal service."
CNN
reported that 12 FAA facilities saw staffing shortages on Monday night, and
three control towers had "staffing triggers" reported in the FAA
operations plan. In an FAA operations plan reviewed at 6:30 Tuesday evening, there
were seven staffing triggers listed.
Duffy also said that the government's Essential Air Service
program, which subsidizes airline service in smaller communities, is set to run
out of money on Oct. 12. The No. 1 user of this program is Alaska, he said,
adding that it's a longstanding program with bipartisan support, "but we
won't have the money for it moving forward."
Alaska Airlines currently operates EAS contracts for six Alaskan
communities. The carrier said that despite not being reimbursed for
those flights if the shutdown continues, it would "continue operating
reliable flights," according to an Alaska News Source report.
Airlines for America, the lobbying representative for U.S.
airlines, said in an Oct. 1 statement "we urge elected leaders to act with
urgency and in good faith to identify a solution that will reopen government. …
Aviation is the safest mode of transportation, but to maintain that, the system
may need to slow down, reducing efficiency. … When federal employees who manage
air traffic, inspect aircraft and secure our nation's aviation system are
furloughed or working without pay, the entire industry and millions of Americans
feel the strain."
U.S. Travel Association issued a Sept. 25 statement noting
that "the longer a shutdown drags on, the more likely we are to see longer
[Transportation Security Administration] lines, flight delays and cancellations,
national parks in disrepair and unnecessary delays in modernizing travel
infrastructure." It also said the shutdown could cost the country's travel
economy $1 billion every week.
The association did not immediately respond to a request for
an updated statement.
At a BTN event in Toronto on Monday, panelists were asked if
they had seen any effect of the government shutdown on corporate travel. The
consensus was that there hadn't been any slowdown or drop off just yet, but
corporations were being cautious because of the uncertainty. One supplier on
stage also noted that it was closely following the decisions made by the U.S. government
and the residual impacts on travel, trade and the economies around the world.
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