More concerns at Newark Liberty International Airport as government shutdown impacts air traffic controller staffing
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday to say the federal government shutdown is already affecting air traffic controller staffing and sick calls.
The federal government says some parts of the country are seeing an increase in sick calls from air traffic controllers, who are working without a paycheck until the shutdown ends. Duffy did not say specifically where that was, but said there's been a "slight tick up in sick calls."
"There's been one facility one day, another facility another day. Some areas there's been a 50% reduction in some of the staffing. And again we're tracking it, and we take the appropriate action necessary to make sure our skies are safe," Duffy said.
Duffy and the head of the air traffic controllers union visited controllers at Newark Airport, where there are still flight restrictions in place due to staffing and equipment issues from earlier in the year.
Sure enough, there were ground delays due to staffing at Newark later in the afternoon.
Flights in Denver and Burbank, California were also delayed Monday.
"How do they feed their families?"
The Department of Transportation warned the shutdown would delay efforts to rebuild the country's outdated air traffic control system and that it could add more stress to controllers.
"Some of them were saying, I might have to pick up Uber. I work six days a week in the tower. I might have to pick up Uber jobs. So, they come into work tired, exhausted," Duffy said.
"Any time people are doing work and not getting paid for it should be a concern to everybody," Newark passenger Michelle Potcheak said.
"Yeah, I can't stop thinking about it. We're asking these people to do something that's so vital, and how do they feed their families?" passenger Debbie Cerulli said.
The Port Authority warned that if the shutdown drags on, it could lead to delays and severe operational challenges at Newark, John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.
So what is Duffy's message to passengers who might be concerned that their air traffic controller is going to be stressed out about missing a paycheck on top of all the other concerns at Newark?
"If we see there's issues in the tower that are affecting the controllers' ability to effectively control the airspace, we'll reduce the rate. And you might see more delays or a cancellation. I'm willing to do that before we're willing to risk anyone's life in the air," Duffy said.
In 2019, there was a 34-day shutdown that ultimately ended just hours after an increase in sick calls from air traffic controllers. During the shutdown, an increase in sick calls from TSA agents led to longer wait times as well.