US air traffic could be ‘slightly reduced’ Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday if the federal government shutdown extends into the busy Thanksgiving travel season.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week ordered fewer flights at the nation’s busiest airports after some air traffic controllers went unpaid and missed work for nearly a month.
Reduction effect cIt will start at 4% on Friday and increase to 10%. These will be in force from 6am to 10pm and will affect all commercial airlines.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Sunday had the most cancellations, with 173.New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport followed with 115 cases.
The FAA says staffing shortages at New York’s Newark and LaGuardia airports are causing The average departure delay is approximately 75 minutes.
Wayne Metropolitan Airport in Detroit, Michigan, was mostly empty Sunday morning, and while wait times at security checkpoints were minimal, departures and arrivals boards were filled with delays and cancellations.
Mr Duffy said additional flight reductions may be necessary. Probably up to 20% This is especially true if the controller does not receive a salary for the second time in a row.
“Every day, fewer and fewer drivers are coming to work, and more and more drivers are going without pay,” Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday.”
And it prepared Americans for what they might face during the busy Thanksgiving holiday season.
“Looking ahead two weeks, As the Thanksgiving trip approaches“I think air traffic will decrease because everyone wants to travel to see family,” Duffy said.
He added that there would be “very few flight controllers” working, leading to “several take-offs and landings” and thousands of cancellations.
“There will be massive disruption.”. There will be many angry Americans. I think we need to be honest about where this situation is going. “Things aren’t getting better, and they’re only going to get worse until air traffic controllers are paid,” Duffy said.
The government has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers, and several presidential administrations have tried to persuade controllers to stay on as they reach retirement age. Duffy said the shutdown has made the problem worse, prompting some air traffic controllers to retire early.
“Up to 15 or 20 people a day are retiring.”Duffy said on CNN.
He said he received a text message from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offering to loan military air traffic controllers, but it was unclear whether the personnel would be eligible to work on civilian systems.
Duffy rejected Democrats’ accusations that canceling the flights was a political tactic, saying the cancellations were necessary because an overloaded system increases the chance of an accident.
“We needed to take steps to keep people safe.”Duffy added. “I’m doing the best I can in the chaos the Democrats have pushed into us.”
Airlines for America, the trade group representing U.S. airlines, said delays related to air traffic control staffing shortages exceeded 3,000 hours Saturday, the highest during the shutdown, with staffing issues contributing to 71% of delays.
From Oct. 1 to Nov. 7, the air traffic controller shortage affected more than 4 million U.S. airline passengers, according to Airlines for America.
About The Author
