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Hundreds of U.S. air traffic controller have been forced to take Temporary Second job after missing the first job paycheckConcerns over already strained aviation security have intensified System amid a long time government shutdownAn official of the union has confirmed this. The move highlights the growing financial pressure on essential workers.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, warned reporters at Reagan Washington National Airport that the number of controllers seeking additional employment is about to increase rapidly.
“It’s going to be 1,000 soon,” Daniels said, urging an immediate resolution to the political impasse. “We want the shutdown to end today…no matter how it is done, it is what the American people deserve.”
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is already facing a significant shortage, working with approximately 3,500 fewer air traffic controllers than needed. Many people were already working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks before the current shutdown worsened the situation.
Thousands of flights disrupted in the last two days
Staffing shortages have repeatedly disrupted the aviation industry during the 28-day-old government shutdown, delaying about 7,000 flights on Monday and 8,800 on Sunday. As of 9:30 a.m. EDT, more than 1,000 flights were delayed.
About 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officials will have to work without pay after a budget impasse between the Republican president and the Republican Party. donald trump And congressional Democrats initiated the shutdown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will hold a news conference at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday to discuss the reduction. He said controllers are finding work delivering food or driving for Uber to make ends meet.
Daniels said the lack of pay is a dangerous distraction and “every day that this shutdown drags on, the system becomes less safe.”
Frustration over delay puts pressure on lawmakers to resolve issue
Southwest Airlines had 34 percent of its flights delayed Monday, while American Airlines had 29 percent of its flights delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. 19 percent of flights for United Airlines were delayed and 22 percent of flights for Delta Airlines were delayed.
The delays and cancellations have frustrated the public and intensified scrutiny of the shutdown’s impact, increasing pressure on lawmakers to address it.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences for controllers and TSA officers increased as workers did not receive pay, leading to increased wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington.