Republicans sounded the alarm Thursday over potential turmoil at US airports as the government shutdown threatens to drag into November, warning of ruined holiday plans for millions of Americans.
With the standoff in its fourth week, President Donald Trump’s Republicans and the opposition Democrats are facing increasing pressure to end a stalemate that has crippled public services.
More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are working without pay, and the Trump administration joined Republicans in Congress to warn that increasing absenteeism could mean chaos at check-in lines.
“We are rounding into a holiday season, as we all know, and we’re in the middle of the height of the football season. This is peak travel time for the US,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told a news conference.
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to travel to football games this weekend, for example, and if the current trajectory continues, many Americans could miss watching their favorite teams and reconnecting with friends and family.”
Airport workers calling in sick rather than working without pay — leading to significant delays — was a major factor in Trump bringing an end to the 2019 shutdown, the longest in history at 35 days.
In normal times, five percent of flight delays are the result of staffing shortages but that has increased to more than 50 percent, Johnson said.
He told reporters that 19,000 flights were delayed from Saturday to Monday and that this rate was “only going to increase” as the shutdown continues.
Johnson said airport workers were finishing long shifts and then taking on second jobs driving Uber or delivering food.
“The longer the shutdown goes on, and as fewer air traffic controllers show up to work, the safety the American people is thrown further into jeopardy,” he warned.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he had spoken to staff in control towers who were voicing deepening anger over the shutdown — a standoff over health care funding that has led to 1.4 million federal workers going without pay.
“I want them coming to their facilities and controlling the airspace, but they’re having to make decisions about how they spend their time, to make sure they put food on their table, feed their kids and support their family members,” he said.
