US govt shutdown continues to impact flights due to air traffic control staffing crisis

More and more air traffic control staff are going out of work as the US government continues to be in a shutdown for the eighth day. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been reporting flight disruptions in the past week, as air traffic control operations face staffing shortages.

As per the FAA operation plan, six major air traffic control facilities were short-staffed on Wednesday. Staffing shortages were reported at several key air traffic control facilities, including those near Washington, DC, and Denver, as well as centres overseeing flights to and from Newark and Orlando. Additional shortages affected portions of airspace control operations in New Mexico and California.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that while he understands that controllers might be “stressed out” by the realities of the shutdown, “they have got to go to work.”

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“I’m encouraging air traffic controllers to show up for work. They need to go to their jobs. They need to control the airspace,” Duffy told CNN.

Will they get paid?

Yes, but the next paycheck will only include the amount for hours worked before the shutdown. Duffy has said that air traffic controllers have been increasingly calling in sick since the government shutdown last week.

Duffy noted that controllers are worried. “They’re thinking about, am I going to get a paycheck?” Duffy said, adding that some are asking themselves: “Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a job that’s already stressful?”

Trump rejects back pay for employees

Furloughed federal government employees may not be entitled to back pay after the shutdown lifts, US President Donald Trump has said, adding that the payments will depend on who he deems “deserving” of the money.

The Republican leader remarked when asked by reporters about a draft White House memo arguing that 750,000 employees expected to be furloughed are not guaranteed to get their money when they return to work.

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“It depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump said. “I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy.”