Duffy warned the impacts on air travel will grow dire if they do not break the stalemate soon.
“You’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle,” he said on CNN on Sunday. He added that travellers trying to fly home for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month may not be able to get there.
“Many of them are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced last week that it would be reducing air travel capacity by up to 6% this weekend and 10% by next weekend at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. The cuts do not apply to international flights, but some airlines may choose to also cancel some of those flights, the FAA said.
Air traffic controllers, who are not being paid during the shutdown, are reportedly fatigued and not coming to work, triggering the reductions in air traffic allowances.
Duffy said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth offered to have military air traffic controllers step in to help but he declined the offer because they are not certified to direct air traffic at the civilian airports.
