The nation’s air traffic controllers are warning that the government shutdown is putting aviation safety at risk as thousands of essential workers report for duty without pay.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said at a Tuesday briefing that controllers are moving more than 45,000 flights and 3 million passengers every day, even as they see the first disruptions to their paychecks. The strain, he said, is eroding focus in one of the most demanding jobs in public service.
“Today marks the first day that air traffic controllers have a completely different focus,” Daniels said. “They don’t know when they’ll get paid again. This introduces a new risk to aviation.”
The warning came as staffing shortages this week delayed flights at some U.S. airports, including in Burbank, California, and Nashville, Tennessee. As of Tuesday morning, 1,280 flight delays had been reported nationwide, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware, below the average daily rate of about 4,100 for U.S. airlines so far this year, but still a sign of mounting strain as the shutdown continues.
Tuesday will mark the first partial paycheck for air traffic controllers, and Oct. 28 will be the first fully suspended payday, according to NATCA. The union represents roughly 14,000 active controllers, though only about 10,800 are currently certified, leaving the system 3,800 short of the FAA’s staffing target. Daniels said that the shortfall means the system has no cushion for additional disruptions.
“There’s nothing in this system that has any giveaway,” he said. “When you’re 3,800 controllers short and working six days a week, any added level of risk to a system that’s already stretched as thin as it is and as fragile as it is can have consequences.”
Controllers are trained to eliminate risk, not become part of it, Daniels said. But the financial uncertainty is forcing some to pick up second jobs or defer mortgage payments just to stay afloat. He said controllers are now asking themselves questions no one in such a safety-critical role should have to consider.
“After I finish my shift, do I have to go drive Uber tonight to put food on the table for my family?” Daniels said, describing the kinds of dilemmas his members are facing. “That kind of stress has no place in aviation safety.”
While NATCA commended Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Michael Bedford for keeping training programs open during the shutdown, a first in agency history, Daniels said that effort can only continue for about “17 more days” before funding runs out. Once that happens, hundreds of trainees could be sidelined, compounding an already critical shortage.
The current shutdown is drawing comparisons to the 35-day closure in 2018-2019, which led to major flight delays at LaGuardia, Atlanta, and Washington National airports as staffing hit critical lows. The FAA later reported that controller shortages contributed to slower response times and reduced safety margins. Daniels said conditions now are even more fragile. “Controllers are supposed to mitigate risk,” he said. “They’re not supposed to become one.”
Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association International, said pilots share deep concern about the shutdown’s safety implications. “It’s hard to believe that those who keep us safe and secure, controllers, TSA agents, safety inspectors, are working without a paycheck,” Ambrosi said. “Can you imagine doing such a stressful job and wondering if you’ll make your next mortgage payment?”
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Both union leaders said the system remains safe for now, but warned that fatigue and financial stress could erode the safety margins that make U.S. air travel among the safest in the world.
“Air traffic controllers are not responsible for starting this shutdown,” Daniels said. “They’re not responsible for ending it either. Only our elected officials can, and they need to end it today.”
