US government shutdown jeopardizes air safety: Report

ISTANBUL

As the US government shutdown continues, air traffic controllers are working without pay, raising concerns about air safety amid staffing shortages and mounting pressure on the nation’s aviation system, according to a report Thursday.

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, said at a Sept. 10 event that during the last 35-day shutdown, air traffic controllers took on side jobs like driving for Uber to cover essential expenses, including medicine for family members, according to the US news website Politico.

At a Politico event Tuesday, Deputy Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury called air traffic controllers dedicated professionals, emphasizing that the shutdown would not affect their performance.

The shutdown is set to exacerbate longstanding issues for air traffic controllers and could prompt them to take action, as seen in a 2018-2019 sickout that helped end the 35-day shutdown, the report said.

It adds further pressure to an already overburdened aviation system, with over 10,000 air traffic controllers working long hours, facing staffing shortages, and dealing with the aftermath of a deadly midair collision in January this year.

On Jan. 29, a PSA Airlines CRJ-700 jet operating for American Airlines collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, DC, killing all 64 passengers on the plane and all three passengers in the helicopter after both crashed into the Potomac River.

The crash has spurred efforts to address safety gaps, with a focus on increasing controller hiring and updating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technology to combat staffing shortages and equipment issues.

After the last shutdown, the former chair of the House Transportation Committee proposed a bill to keep the FAA operating during funding lapses, but Congress did not pass it.

The US Travel Association warns that the shutdown could cost $1 billion per week across industries like airlines and hotels.

A 2023 FAA review cited repeated funding lapses as disrupting critical aviation activities, including modernization and flight operations.

The latest shutdown plan outlines furloughs for 12,000 Transportation Department employees, mostly at the FAA, but no controllers will be furloughed.

FAA Academy classes, field training and controller hiring will continue, marking a shift from a March contingency plan, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has focused on increasing controller staffing after the Jan. 29 crash.

The federal government officially entered a shutdown at midnight Wednesday after lawmakers failed to break a deadlock on funding legislation.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday again rejected a Republican proposal, already passed by the House of Representatives, to fund the government at current levels through late November. Only three Democrats backed the proposal, well short of the total needed to overcome a key 60-vote threshold to pass legislation in the chamber.

Democrats have sought to include health care reforms as part of any budget bill, including a reversal of part of President Donald Trump's signature tax law that established cuts to Medicaid funding, as well as an extension of subsidies under the US's quasi-universal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican-controlled Senate rejected along party lines a stopgap funding bill that would have included the funding Tuesday evening. Republicans have accused Democrats of seeking to fund health care for undocumented migrants, a charge they deny.

While a shutdown does not automatically result in a full-blown economic crisis, it creates major disruptions for many aspects of American life.

Many federal employees deemed essential are furloughed, or forced to work without pay, while others have been placed on mandatory leave until a new budget is approved. Trump has added the threat of layoffs during this shutdown.