Air traffic controllers have been working without pay, and some have opted to call in sick, while others have taken up second jobs to sustain themselves.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he was “NOT HAPPY” with controllers who failed to show up.
- The DOT and FAA said there has been a rapid decline in controller callouts, with only 11 staffing triggers on Tuesday and four on Wednesday.
- The agencies suggested that such strong staffing levels suggest a further ramp-up in-flight reductions are not necessary to keep the traveling public safe.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a new order on Wednesday, capping flight reductions at the present 6% levels amid an improvement in staff numbers as the shutdown neared an end.
“The FAA safety team is encouraged to see our air traffic control staffing surge, and they feel comfortable with pausing the reduction schedule to give us time to review the airspace,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Air Traffic Controllers Return Days After Trump’s Warnings
Controllers have been working without pay, and some have opted to call in sick while others have taken up second jobs to sustain themselves during the longest federal shutdown in the country’s history. The FAA had ordered airlines to reduce domestic flights at the country’s 40 major airports by 10% this week to reduce the load on airport infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he was “NOT HAPPY” with controllers who failed to show up. “All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,'” he said in a Truth Social post. He also warned that any controllers who wanted to quit would not receive any “payment or severance of any kind!” and would be “quickly replaced by true Patriots.”
The DOT and FAA said that there has been a rapid decline in controller callouts, with only eleven staffing triggers on Tuesday and four staffing triggers on Wednesday, from a high of 81 on Nov. 8. The agencies suggested that such strong staffing levels suggest a further ramp-up in-flight reductions are not necessary to keep the traveling public safe.
“We’ll continue to monitor system performance hour by hour, and we won’t hesitate to make further adjustments if needed,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
Shutdown Close To An End After Stopgap Bill Passes In The House
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure to keep the government open until Jan. 30. U.S. President Donald Trump has already expressed his support for the bill. “We’re opening up our country. [It] should have never been closed,” Trump said at a Veterans Day event in Arlington, Virginia.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Delta Air Lines was in the ‘neutral’ territory while traders were ‘bearish’ about rival United.
Thousands Of Flight Cancellations To Hit Airlines’ Earnings
U.S. carriers such as Delta, JetBlue, American Airlines, United, and Alaska Air have seen thousands of cancellations over the past few weeks due to the staff shortage at airports. About 5,163 flights were cancelled across U.S. airports over the weekend, according to FlightAware.
Earlier in the day, Delta CEO Ed Bastian warned that the U.S. government-mandated flight cuts would result in “significant” costs.
During an interview with CNBC, Bastian said the airline still expects normalcy to resume, provided the ongoing government shutdown ends this week.
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