The federal government shutdown stretched into day 13 on Monday, Oct. 13 and shows no signs of stopping due to ongoing tensions between lawmakers. However, experts say there is a certain group that can help end the crisis: air traffic controllers.
Airports, including those in Houston, Nashville and Chicago, have experienced staffing shortages, sending a ripple effect across America. In fact, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says that “more and more workers are calling out sick.”
As air traffic controllers are considered essential employees, they are required to work without pay during the government shutdown. Though organized job actions like strikes are prohibited by federal law, even a small number of absences results in paralyzing consequences for each airport facility, and the entire sky.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that air traffic controllers acted during a government shutdown. The 35-day shutdown—which lasted from December 2018 to January 2019—ended after 10 air traffic controllers stayed home, severely complicating the flow of air travel.
Combined with TSA agents calling out sick, delays and backups occurred both at security checkpoints and in the sky. Ultimately, this combination led to the end of the lengthy shutdown.
Americans have reason to hope that the unsung heroes of the airport can become the tipping point that forced Washington, D.C. to reopen the government, as delayed flights and paralyzed airports aren’t the only ones impacted by air traffic controller absences. An additional headache for travelers is the expiration of subsidies for flights to smaller cities.
The Essential Air Service, created to provide funding for airlines to travel to small cities, has “exhausted every resource” as the transportation department said in a statement. With the government shutdown, there are no funds to renew these necessary subsidies.
Residents of remote states like Alaska, where transportation to mainland America is only possible by plane, will suffer the most. Though several airlines that operate these flights plan to provide them in the foreseeable future, the ongoing shutdown could lead them to stop.
The events of the past week serve to emphasize how impactful a group can be—however small or overlooked—when it acts strategically.
