Federal Aviation Administration officials could have avoided disrupting air travel by not furloughing controllers, as was done in the past, lawmakers have told Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

“It has been questioned why air traffic controllers are not exempt from furloughs,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., andtransportation subcommittee chairman Rep. Bill Schuster, R-Pa., said in an April 25 letter.