Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that airport delays are “going to get worse” as the government shutdown drags into its fifth week, leaving air traffic controllers unpaid.
“I think the real consequence is, what kind of rolling delays do you have throughout the system, right?” Duffy said Sunday on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan.
“We’ve seen problems at L.A., in Dallas, in D.C., Boston, Atlanta. And so I think it’s only going to get worse.”
The grim prediction came as ground delays piled up at major transportation hubs on Sunday, including a nearly four-hour backup and ground stop at embattled Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and NYC Emergency Management.
Staffing shortfalls also hit major airports, including Los Angeles International Airport and San Diego International Airport, which were experiencing one-hour delays as of Sunday evening, the FAA said.
The chaos comes just weeks before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest transit holidays of the year.
Duffy insisted the feds would “stop traffic” if the staffing shortages due to air traffic controllers calling out sick became a safety issue, but added “we’re not going to let that happen.”
“We don’t have the best equipment in our towers and centers for air traffic control. But we have the safest airspace, we have the most efficient airspace because we have the best controllers in the world that work our skies and keep our people safe. They deserve a paycheck,” Duffy said.
Duffy, who last month suggested controllers who skip work over missing pay could be fired, softened his tone in Sunday’s interview.
“They don’t make a lot of money, and they’re now confronted; they haven’t had a paycheck for over a month. They’re confronted with a decision: do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent, or do I go to work and not get paid?” Duffy said.
“I’m not going to fire air traffic controllers …They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck. They don’t need to be fired,” he continued.
The government shutdown began Oct. 1, upending air travel and federal food assistance across the nation.
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