Live updates: Air traffic cut at some airports as government shutdown drags on | CNN Politics
When the government reopens, flights will not go back to normal immediately depending on if controllers show up to work, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday.
“If the government opens on day one, will I see an immediate response from controllers? No, the union is telling me is going to take time to get them all back in,” Duffy told reporters at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Friday morning.
Remember: Friday is the first day of slashed airline capacity at 40 airports around the country, as the Federal Aviation Administration tries to navigate ongoing controller shortages caused by the federal government shutdown.
“As we see the data change and more controllers come to work, we are as quickly as possible going to take these restrictions away,” Duffy said. “That’s the that’s the best approach.”
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents the country’s air traffic controllers who – are not collecting paychecks during the shutdown – has discouraged controllers from not showing up to work, however, many controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet.
Duffy said he’s asked union leadership to tell members to show up.
“There’s a higher level of fatigue with the controllers because they’ve been doing this for a long time as you try to mitigate the impact of the shutdown,” Duffy said.
