DENVER (KDVR) — Staffing issues have hit the skies above Denver as U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government shutdown is adding extra weight to air traffic controllers’ already high-stress jobs.
Duffy visited air traffic controllers before speaking to the media at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. The airport is under a similar ground delay as Denver International Airport, with both advisories stating that staffing was causing the delays.
Duffy said that there has been a small uptick in sick calls from controllers, and that if that gets worse during a prolonged federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to reduce the number of flights taking off and landing, which would create further delays and possible cancellations.
An FAA spokesperson provided FOX31 with the following statement on Monday.
“As Secretary Duffy said, there have been increased staffing shortages across the system. When that happens, the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations,” the FAA spokesperson said. “For real-time flight impacts for every U.S. airport due to staffing, as well as weather or other factors, please visit fly.faa.gov.”
As of 4:30 p.m., DIA had about 473 delayed flights and one cancelled flight, according to flight tracking software FlightAware.
In May, air traffic controllers lost contact with pilots around DIA for about 90 seconds, causing about 20 pilots to not have contact with ground crews. Legislators called for change after the incident, voicing concerns that the loss of communication could have led to a deadly crash.
The Transportation Security Administration told FOX31 that it is prepared to continue screening millions of passengers each day, but that the extended shutdown could lead to longer wait times at airports.
“We kindly ask for our passengers’ patience during this time,” a TSA spokesperson said. “Despite this challenge, we will remain vigilant and focused on performing our vital security mission on behalf of the American people.”
When there is a federal government shutdown, eventually every government employee is supposed to get paid, but employees deemed “non-essential” or “non-excepted” don’t continue to work or continue to get paid during the shutdown. But for critical operations like air traffic control, it means workers are working without pay until the shutdown can be lifted and Congress can pay the controllers.
“Now what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace is, how am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car payment?” Duffy told reporters on Monday. “I have a couple kids at home. How do I put food on the table? I’m working six days a week. Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a job that’s already stressful to think about how I can make extra money because the government may not provide me a paycheck?”
The U.S. Department of Transportation noted in its shutdown plan that some 13,294 air traffic controllers will continue to work without pay.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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