"'Many of the controllers said, 'A lot of us can navigate missing one paycheck. Not everybody, but a lot of us can. None of us can manage missing two paychecks,' Duffy said. 'So if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have air traffic controllers.'"
"There have already been numerous delays at airports across the country-sometimes hours long-because the Federal Aviation Administration slows down or stops traffic temporarily anytime it is short on controllers. Last weekend saw some of the worst staff shortages and on Sunday, flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were delayed for several hours. Duffy and the head of the air traffic controllers union have both warned that the situation will only get worse the longer the shutdown continues"
A prolonged government shutdown could trigger mass disruption in air travel if air traffic controllers miss a second paycheck. The FAA has already slowed or stopped traffic when short on controllers, creating numerous delays nationwide, including multihour delays at Newark Liberty International. FAA employees missed a paycheck on Oct. 28 and have a scheduled payday next Tuesday. Many controllers can manage one missed paycheck but not two, and continued unpaid work could force flight cancellations and partial airspace closures. Airlines and travel groups urge Congress to pass funding to end the shutdown; economic losses exceed $4 billion.
Read at Fast Company
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]