The Department of Transportation (DOT) might be forced to shut down the airspace in certain parts of the country if the government shutdown continues into next week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed on Tuesday.
“So if, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos,” he said, according to ABC News. “You will see mass flight delays. You’ll see mass cancelations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the government for a 14th time, all but ensuring that the government shutdown becomes the longest in U.S. history.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his Democratic caucus are still largely entrenched in their position that unless an ironclad deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies is struck, they won’t reopen the government.
During a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer squarely placed the blame for the healthcare issue on Republicans and President Donald Trump as Americans got notices of increased premiums over the weekend.
“The only plan Republicans have for healthcare seems to be to eliminate it, and then to tell working people to go figure it out on their own,” he said. “That’s not a healthcare plan. That’s cruel.”
However, Democrats’ resolve showed signs of weakening on Monday, when a group of nearly a dozen Senate Democrats met behind closed doors to discuss a way out.
When asked if he believed that the shutdown could end this week, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) who has routinely engaged in bipartisan talks since the shutdown began, said, “I don’t know, I hope so.”
“Bottom line is they can stop all this with one vote and get back into it and get back to work on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “Again, that’s what we’re hoping.”
Nearly 50% of all major air traffic control facilities face staffing shortages, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Air traffic controllers are required to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown.
About 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently working without pay, according to the FAA. On Friday, the agency said that 80% of the New York area staff had called out.
“These hard-working Americans have bills to pay, and they are being forced to make decisions and choices,” Duffy said Monday of air traffic controllers at an unrelated event in Philadelphia. “Do they go to work as an air traffic controller, or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, to put food on their table, to put gas in their car? And as every day goes by, I think the problem is only going to get worse, not better.”
Duffy issued a similar warning during an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz over the weekend.
“We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe” amid the shortages, Duffy said, while at the same time a ground stop was in effect at Newark Liberty International Airport due to staffing issues.
“There is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that’s doing two jobs instead of one,” he added.
PART OF THE “DEMORATS GOVERNMENT SHOWDOWN”!!!!!!
When air traffic controllers can’t eat, they can be easily distracted.