BOSTON — Now that air traffic controllers have missed two paychecks during the government shutdown, the FAA announced it will reduce airline traffic to maintain safety while airports face staffing shortages.
“Our air traffic controllers and a lot of those who work at DOT but throughout government, they haven’t received paychecks, because of that, we have seen staffing pressures throughout our airspace,” said Sean Duffy, U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Secretary Duffy says the FAA will be reducing all airline traffic by 10 percent starting this Friday in 40 of the busiest markets across the country.
“When we see pressures building in these 40 markets, we just can’t ignore it, you know, and we’re not gonna wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” said Bryan Bedford, FAA Administrator.
The FAA says it’s becoming a safety concern now that a lot of air traffic controllers aren’t showing up for work during the government shutdown.
“They’re not calling in sick, they’re calling in saying, I don’t have childcare today what do you want me to do, I can’t pay for it, I can’t pay for the gas, and I can’t pay for my utilities,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “Air traffic controllers need to get paid for the work that they do day in and day out, that they shouldn’t be the rope in this tug of war game that’s going on.”
A lot of travelers agree.
“I think everybody deserves to be paid, if it was me I would already quit no one can go this long without pay,” said Debora Desouza, traveling at Logan Airport.
While many travelers feel for the government workers who aren’t getting paid, they’re also not looking forward to more cancellations and fewer flight options ahead of the busy holiday season.
“People are gonna feel the pain if they’re not already, but they have to figure out how to work this out just to get the country back in order,” said Billy Thomas, traveling at Logan Airport Wednesday. “It’s going on far too long all this fighting is just crazy, you know I think they’re hurting the wrong people because of it.”
The FAA says it’s meeting now with airline executives to figure out how to change flight schedules this weekend, and a list of which airports will be impacted by this will be released Thursday.
It’s unclear whether Logan Airport in Boston will be impacted, but it is one of the busiest airports in the country.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW