Unpaid ATC Work Causes Concern for Air Travel Safety

The federal government has officially gone into lockdown mode, and the effects of it are being felt across the board. The FAA will be laying off around a fourth of its staff, leaving 11,000 employees in limbo as another 13,000 air traffic controllers are forced to work on their own dime.

Air traffic controllers are considered critical roles, meaning they are required to remain on the job but won’t receive pay until the shutdown ends. With the FAA claiming it is already short nearly 4,000 controllers, the block on new hires and training will only deepen the strain.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers such as Delta, American, United, and Southwest, added that the shutdown will inevitably reduce efficiency. The organization warned that slower processing and staffing shortages could impact travelers nationwide. The U.S. Travel Association also says that the broader travel sector stands to lose $1 billion per week if the shutdown drags on.

The National Transportation Safety Board will also lose about 25 percent of its workforce, though luckily, it says it will still be able to launch new accident investigations. This already puts the group in a better position than it was in the 2019 shutdown, when nearly 90 percent of its staff were furloughed, leaving almost two dozen accidents without investigators on site.

Airport security remains intact, but like all others, it takes a hit. The Transportation Security Administration’s 50,000 screeners will continue working without pay. During the last shutdown, missed paychecks led to increased absences and long checkpoint lines, especially at major hubs like New York, Atlanta, and Miami. A repeat of this could pressure lawmakers to strike a deal quickly.

The FAA assures that critical safety work will continue despite the cuts. Certification of commercial airplanes and engines will proceed, along with oversight of commercial space launches. But other projects and non-essential programs will be placed on hold until funding is restored.

FMI: www.faa.gov