Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday that “certain parts” of the nation’s airspace will most likely be closed next week because of the government shutdown, now ongoing for 35 days and counting.
During a press conference, the Cabinet official warned “mass chaos” would ensue regarding air travel if Senate Democrats don’t agree to fund the federal government through Nov. 21.
“If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos,” Duffy said. “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 the air traffic controllers.”
Stressing the importance of safety, Duffy said risks increase the longer the shutdown continues.
“We delay flights. We tell airlines to cancel flights if we don’t have enough controllers to effectively and safely manage our skies, but with this shutdown, it would be dishonest to say that more risk is not injected into the system,” he added. “There is more risk in the system.”
The Senate failed to pass Republicans’ stopgap funding bill for the 14th time on Tuesday, making it increasingly likely that the shutdown will become the longest in the nation’s history. The previous 35-day record happened during President Donald Trump’s first term from December 2018 to January 2019. Wednesday will mark the 36th day of the current funding lapse.
Both parties blame the other for letting the impasse in the Senate last over a month.
The shutdown has taken a toll on the staffing levels of air traffic controllers and other federal government employees. Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers are working without pay, affecting tens of thousands of flights.
More than 3.2 million passengers have experienced flight delays or cancellations since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. Over 6,200 flights were delayed, and another 500 were canceled on Friday, considered the single worst day for air travel since the shutdown started.
Duffy attributed 65% of the weekend’s nationwide delays to air traffic controller absences.
The White House, citing the elevated risks with air travel right now, is once again urging Democrats to vote in favor of the GOP’s “clean” continuing resolution to reopen the federal government.
“This past weekend, Americans traveling to weddings, funerals, vacations, and meetings faced significant flight disruptions at airports across the country because of staffing shortages,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“Let me be clear to our incredible air traffic controllers across the country: President Trump and Republicans want you to get your paychecks,” she said. “They want you to be paid. Please call on your Democrat senators and tell them to side with President Trump and Republicans to vote to reopen the government.”
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT PAUSES OPERATIONS DUE TO ‘BOMB THREAT’ ON INCOMING FLIGHT: DUFFY
The four largest domestic airlines — United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines — and major labor unions for pilots are now pushing Congress to pass the funding bill.
“Never before have we seen private industry and union leadership so unified on the same issue, rallying behind Republicans in such a vocal way,” Leavitt added. “The Democrats have completely lost the plot. They are endangering the safety, prosperity, and livelihoods of millions of Americans.”
