One veteran air traffic controller told Forbes that the air traffic system is already overloaded to the point of being “unsustainable,” suggesting there will be more sick calls as the shutdown continues.
Key data
“The air traffic system, in general, is stressed to the max,” a veteran air traffic controller working at a major East Coast airport told Forbes on Tuesday, adding that “sick leave will continue to occur because (controllers) are not fit to do their duty.”
Six FAA facilities — Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville and Philadelphia — experienced staffing shortages Tuesday afternoon, according to an advisory indicating an inadequate staffing level threshold.
The FAA issued a ground delay for Nashville International Airport due to staffing shortages Tuesday afternoon and evening, noting flight delays of more than two hours.
A dozen FAA facilities suffered similar “personnel triggers” on Monday night.
Will air traffic controllers be paid during the closure?
Air traffic controllers, like Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at airport security checkpoints, are working without pay during the shutdown. By law, they will be given back pay once the shutdown ends, although President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that this may not happen. Air traffic controllers are scheduled to receive partial pay on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and zero pay two weeks later, Nick Daniels, president of the 19,000-member National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told Forbes.
You may be interested: Trump leaves the door open to replace the USMCA with bilateral agreements
Do air traffic controllers call in sick?
NATCA has warned its members that organized sick leave is illegal. However, union leaders and individual air traffic controllers have told Forbes that the lack of payment will increase the workload on an already overburdened system. “Not paying the understaffed controllers we already have, and then getting angry because they find this additional stress unbearable, is idiotic,” the veteran air traffic controller told Forbes. “Missing even a single payment is a cause of stress; stress that they don’t need and that you don’t want when controlling your planes. This will only get worse and intensify the longer the shutdown continues.”
How did air traffic controllers behave during the last government shutdown?
During the last shutdown, which lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, a prolonged shortage of air traffic controllers led to an increase in absenteeism, which in turn caused flight delays. For example, after not receiving pay in January 2019, six air traffic controllers called in sick in New York, causing more than 600 flights to be delayed at LaGuardia Airport that day, CBS News reported. Disruptions at several airports reportedly led Trump to agree to end the shutdown.
This article was originally published by Forbes US
Follow information about the world in our international section
