Air traffic controllers still in short supply after government shutdown

The United States has been rushing to hire more air traffic controllers for years. The longest federal government shutdown in history may have made that even more difficult.

“We need more people in this profession, and this shutdown will make it even harder to achieve that goal,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, the day before Congress signed a bill that would fund the federal government through January and end the shutdown.

Air traffic controllers were required to work without regular pay during the shutdown. Some wages were paid on Friday, people familiar with the matter said, but unions, government officials and lawmakers said the lack of regular pay added to stress, as some had held second jobs to make ends meet during the shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported lower staffing thresholds and slower aircraft speeds across the country during the final days of the shutdown. President Donald Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off pay for air traffic controllers if they didn’t report to work. Staffing levels remained relatively strong across the U.S. on Friday, with disruptions easing.

“We can’t pretend this is a great job because we have to deal with this problem all the time,” said Tim Kiefer, who teaches air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

Kiefer served as an air traffic controller for more than 20 years before retiring. He said closures and threats of closure were common during his career. “You might see people decide to do something else and say, ‘I didn’t get paid, I was stuck in the middle of a partisan fight,'” he says.

According to Airlines for America, thousands of flights were delayed or canceled during the shutdown due to a lack of air traffic controllers, affecting the travel plans of more than 5 million people. american airlines, united airlines, delta airlines, southwest airlines And others.

But even if some of their paychecks hit their bank accounts, the shortage crisis that regularly disrupts travel will continue.

According to a government tally last year, the U.S. is 3,903 fully certified air traffic controllers short of its goal of 14,633. The shortage is particularly acute at high-traffic facilities, such as those where air traffic controllers guide planes in and out of busy New York-area airports, further disrupting operations and frustrating airline executives and customers.

Meanwhile, retirements have increased during the shutdown, with 15 to 20 people leaving the company per day, down from the normal number of four people leaving the company per day, Duffy said Tuesday. Managers must retire at the age of 56, but may retire early with benefits based on years of service.

Staffing was already short before the shutdown began on October 1, with many air traffic controllers working six days a week. By mid-November, air traffic controllers were unable to receive two full salaries and the closure period exceeded a month, approaching crisis level.

A combination of bad weather and a shortage of air traffic controllers at facilities across the country led to more than 10% of flights departing the United States being canceled last Sunday. This was the highest rate since July 19, 2024. cloud strike A power outage occurred and had a severe impact. delta airlinesThis has led to thousands of canceled flights and caused travel headaches, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

Hours after cancellations spiked Sunday, the Senate advanced a tentative agreement that would lead to a vote to end the shutdown this week.

In early November, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut domestic flight schedules by 4% at 40 major airports, citing safety risks due to increased workload for air traffic controllers. The rate cut was scheduled to be expanded to 10% on Friday if the shutdown did not end. But cancellations improved dramatically during the week, with only 2% of U.S.-bound flights canceled as of Friday morning, Cirium said.

The FAA said it will lower the mandated reduction rate from 6% to 3% starting Saturday and will monitor the system’s performance throughout the weekend.

The disruption was similar to the day of the severe storm, but more widespread across the United States.

Last-minute layoffs have been a headache for the industry, with airlines from top-grossing Delta Air Lines to struggling airline Spilt already cutting their outlooks for the year after an oversupply of flights and lower-than-expected demand earlier this year. Airlines have not yet quantified the damage from the closures, but Bank of America estimates the hit to operating profits for major network airlines will be between $150 million and $200 million, and for other carriers less than $100 million.

Airline executives outraged by the recent turmoil are now asking Congress to ensure air traffic controllers are paid during the next grounding.

“Last week, the impact of air traffic control staffing shortages led to massive and unpredictable delays and cancellations across the industry, which culminated in a series of FAA-mandated schedule reductions,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and the airline’s chief operating officer, David Seymour, said in a memo to employees Thursday, the day after the House approved the short-term funding bill. “We’ve both been in this industry a long time, and when I think of this level of disruption, only a few other events come to mind.”

It could have been much worse. Although this portion of the fall travel demand is relatively small, Congress lifted the shutdown at the urging of airline executives as Thanksgiving approached.

“This shutdown has placed a tremendous strain on our nation’s aviation system and caused significant inconvenience to the millions of Americans who depend on it,” United Airlines said in a statement. “No matter how urgent the policy debate, it should be clear to everyone that air travel should never be jeopardized, and we urge Congress to ensure that FAA and[Transportation Security Administration]funding is protected in the event of future losses in federal funding.”

This isn’t the first time a government shutdown has put a strain on the airline industry. The 2018-2019 shutdown, which at the time was the longest in U.S. history, ended hours after a shortage of controllers disrupted travel in the New York City area.

Some airline executives told CNBC they were frustrated that the groundings and last-minute schedule changes were bigger than expected. “We were pawns” in the government shutdown, said one person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

“What we don’t like is that it’s a political football,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Streets,” adding that it is unacceptable for air traffic controllers and TSA employees to be forced to work without regular pay.

The best way to prevent such a disruption, Bastian said, “is to make sure the employee is paid, because the next time something like this happens, it’s bound to happen.” “Who would object to this?”

The airline industry is asking Congress to enact legislation that would use funds generated from ticket taxes to pay essential industry workers such as air traffic controllers, airport inspectors and customs officials.

“We will not hold the American people hostage in a political battle like that,” Airlines for America CEO and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said during a virtual news conference Wednesday, just before the House passed the funding bill.

Next Wednesday, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, will hold a hearing on the shutdown’s impact on aviation. Earlier this year, Moran pushed for a bill that would give the FAA access to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on airline tickets and fuel, to cover costs in the event of a government shutdown.

“The government shutdown has had a severe impact on an already fragile aviation industry, and recovery from its effects will take time,” he said in a statement this week. “It is important to address the damage and consider the long-term effects of closures.”

Lawmakers earlier this year approved $12.5 billion to improve air traffic control, but the industry said billions more are needed to modernize the U.S. system.

The deadly crash of an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., in January also made hiring more urgent, especially for crowded facilities.

About a month after the crash, Mr. Duffy announced that the nation’s air traffic controller academy would increase student pay and authorized more universities to teach similar curriculum to alleviate the shortage. Oklahoma City Academy also remained open with a different strategy than when it closed in 2018-2019.

However, they cannot be resolved quickly. It takes years for air traffic controllers to be fully trained at some of the more complex facilities, and applicants to the academy are limited to those over 30 years old.