Former pilot says air traffic controllers likely feeling brunt of government shutdown
By Andrea Nakano
While travelers may experience more delays and cancellations starting on Friday, air traffic controllers have been feeling the pain of the 36-day government shutdown.
Many are struggling to juggle their work, family, and bills. Some have had to take on second jobs, and the stress of the government shutdown is taking its toll.
“It is extremely frustrating to see once again our aviation industry taking the brunt of something that is out of our control,” said Cpt. Laura Einsettler.
Captain Einsettler was a commercial pilot for over 30 years. She has seen firsthand how government shutdowns impact those in the aviation industry and how it will affect air travel.
“With the shutdown, it does greatly increase safety risk,” she said. “When you have air traffic controllers with high responsibility level, they do shift work all the time and to now to be added with the stress of how can I pay my rent or my mortgage or put food in the table for my family.”
As the shutdown enters its sixth week, roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers are working without pay. The FAA says 20% to 40% of controllers are not showing up for work at the country’s 30 largest airports. Many can no longer pay for expenses like childcare to be able to go to work.
“Air traffic controllers are showing up to work every day, dealing with issues that we have never seen before,” said Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “In 36 days of the shutdown, the stresses, the pressure, the fatigue is setting in. Air traffic controllers are texting I don’t have enough money to put gas in to come to work.”
While there is fatigue among the workforce, Daniels insists it’s still safe to fly. Transportation expert Howard Sumwalt says the 10% reduction in flight capacity starting on Friday is just a step to keep air travel flowing as smoothly as it can.
“This is the way the system is supposed to work,” said transport expert Howard Sumwalt. “When we have controller staffing issues or weather. This is the way the FAA manages risk. They start reducing the number of planes going in and out of airports. This is not unprecedented.”
The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland Airport (OAK) were among the airports on a list provided to CBS News by a source late Wednesday night that could see a reduction in flights.
The union for air traffic controllers is calling for lawmakers to end the government shutdown as soon as possible. Cpt. Einsettler, though, fears it will drag on a little longer until lawmakers feel the pain of the government shutdown themselves.
“It means people’s flights are going to be getting canceled,” said Cpt. Einsettler. “Especially as we are going into the holidays. When our policy makers and budget makers they’re not getting paid, and their flights are getting canceled, then I think things will be moving faster.”
