US Air Traffic Controllers Struggle as Lockdown Forces Hundreds to Take Second Jobs, ETTravelWorld

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Hundreds of U.S. air traffic controllers are getting second jobs after losing their first full paychecks due to the government shutdown, adding pressure to an already strained aviation safety system, a union official said.

Air traffic controllers and interns are juggling side jobs like waiting tables, delivering food for DoorDash, driving for Uber, grocery shopping for Instacart, and signing up as weekend teachers to make ends meet as the shutdown enters its 28th day. “We are talking with our coworkers about how to get interest-free loans,” Mike Christen, eastern regional vice president for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), told Reuters. He added that observers exchange notes about which companies are postponing payments and who is donating food to workers. They missed their first full paycheck on Tuesday. Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay after a budget impasse between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress led to the shutdown.

Monitors, who received only partial pay two weeks ago, have increasingly called in sick in recent weeks. This has led to thousands of flight delays a day and hundreds of cancellations, which has frustrated the public and intensified scrutiny of the impact of the shutdown, increasing pressure on lawmakers to resolve the situation. The number of controllers working second jobs is set to rise as they look for ways to pay their bills, NATCA President Nick Daniels told reporters Tuesday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. “They’re in the hundreds now doing second jobs. Tomorrow, they’ll be in the thousands,” Daniels told Reuters later in New York at LaGuardia Airport as controllers distributed flyers to passing travelers, urging them to contact local officials to end the closure. He said the lack of pay was a dangerous distraction. For younger proctors who have just moved across the country to start their first job, are interning or have not yet built up their savings, the financial pressures are more apparent.

“They’re the most vulnerable out there. They’re the ones who are definitely feeling the most impact,” Daniels said.

Increasing delays

Staff shortages during the government shutdown have repeatedly disrupted the aviation industry, with nearly 7,000 flights delayed on Monday and 8,800 on Sunday. As of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, about 3,000 flights had been delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday that the absence of air traffic controllers was the main reason. He said 44% of delays on Sunday and 24% on Monday were due to the absence of air traffic controllers, compared to an average of 5% before the lockdown. Even before the shutdown, the FAA was about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of target staffing levels, with many already working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks. Duffy was speaking at a news conference at LaGuardia Airport, flanked by air traffic controllers and their union president, the latest in a series of demonstrations at the airport aimed at urging Democrats to abandon opposition to government funding bills proposed by Republicans.

He said flying remains safe, and that the FAA will slow flights if controllers are not working at certain towers.

Duffy said the department has been unable to find funding to pay monitors, and he urged Democrats to vote to open the government.

“Don’t hold our skies hostage,” Duffy said. “There’s not a lot of room for us to pay people.” Democrats say Republicans refuse to negotiate and are responsible for the continued closure. Southwest Airlines was delayed 34 percent of its flights Monday, while American Airlines was delayed 29 percent, according to FlightAware.

United Airlines was delayed 19 percent of its flights and Delta Air Lines was delayed 22 percent. In 2019, during a 35-day government shutdown, the number of absences by air traffic controllers and TSA officers due to workers being late with paychecks spiked, leading to extended wait times at some airport checkpoints.

The authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington, and flight disruptions were credited with prompting the government to end the closure.

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