The Division of Transportation may be pressured to close down the airspace in sure elements of the nation if the government shutdown continues into subsequent week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on Tuesday.
“So if, should you carry us to per week from in the present day, Democrats, you will note mass chaos,” he stated. “You will note mass flight delays. You will see mass cancelations, and you may even see us shut sure elements of the airspace, as a result of we simply can not handle it as a result of we do not have the air visitors controllers.”
Practically 50% of all main air visitors management amenities face staffing shortages, in response to the Federal Aviation Administration. Air visitors controllers are required to work with out pay throughout the shutdown.
About 13,000 air visitors controllers are at the moment working with out pay, in response to the FAA. On Friday, the company stated that 80% of New York space employees had known as out.
“These hard-working Individuals have payments to pay, and they’re being pressured to make choices and selections,” Duffy stated Monday of air visitors controllers at an unrelated occasion in Philadelphia. “Do they go to work as an air visitors controller, or have they got to discover a completely different job to get assets, cash, to place meals on their desk, to place gasoline of their automobile? And as every single day goes by, I believe the issue is just going to worsen, not higher.”
Individuals wait in a safety checkpoint line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2025. With the federal authorities shutdown coming into its second month, strains at airports are anticipated to develop amid elevated absenteeism amongst safety and security employees at among the nation’s busiest hubs.
Mark Felix/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Duffy made comparable feedback throughout an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday.
“We’ll delay, we are going to cancel, any form of flight throughout the nationwide airspace to verify persons are protected” amid the shortages, Duffy stated, whereas on the similar time a floor cease was in impact at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport resulting from staffing points.
“There’s a degree of threat that will get injected into the system when we have now a controller that is doing two jobs as an alternative of 1,” he added.
It is a growing story. Please test again for updates.
