Government shutdown results in shortage of air traffic controllers: danger in the skies?

Air traffic controllers: essential workers without pay

Essential workers are required to continue performing their duties during a government shutdown, even though they do not receive pay while it lasts. Air traffic controllers fall into this category. For this reason, the number of controllers calling in sick has increased in recent days, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The union representing them, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), stated that the current situation highlights a staffing shortage that has persisted for decades, as reported by CNN.

“It is normal for some air traffic controllers to call in sick on any given day, and this is the latest example of the fragility of our aviation system amid the ongoing national shortage of these essential safety professionals,” NATCA said in a statement on its website. “Nearly 11,000 fully certified controllers remain on the job, many of them working 10-hour shifts up to six days a week, showing extraordinary dedication to safely guiding millions of passengers to their destinations, all without pay during this shutdown,” the union added.

However, some controllers have been forced to seek paid work elsewhere. While some are able to remain at their posts during the shutdown, others must turn to alternative jobs to cover their basic needs. As a result, air traffic control responsibilities have increasingly fallen to pilots.

Using tower radio frequencies, pilots coordinate their intentions with any other aircraft listening on the same channel and are responsible for avoiding other aircraft, trying to operate safely without the support of air traffic controllers. This technique is commonly used at small airports without control towers.