Air traffic controllers take second jobs after missing first paycheck

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels

Hundreds of U.S. air traffic controllers have been forced to take on temporary second jobs after missing their first full paycheck, intensifying concerns over the already strained aviation safety system amidst a prolonged government shutdown, a union official has confirmed. The move highlights the growing financial pressure on essential workers.

Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, warned reporters at Reagan Washington National Airport that the number of controllers seeking additional employment is set to rapidly increase.

“It's quickly going to be 1,000,” Daniels said, urging an immediate resolution to the political impasse. “We want the shutdown to end today... Whatever way that it gets done, that's what the American people deserve.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is already facing a significant shortfall, operating with approximately 3,500 fewer air traffic controllers than required. Many were already working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the current shutdown exacerbated the situation.

Staffing shortages during the 28-day old government shutdown have repeatedly disrupted the aviation industry, with nearly 7,000 flights delayed Monday and 8,800 on Sunday. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Thousands of flights disrupted over past two days

Staffing shortages during the 28-day old government shutdown have repeatedly disrupted the aviation industry, with nearly 7,000 flights delayed Monday and 8,800 on Sunday. As of 9:30 a.m. EDT, just over 1,000 flights were delayed.

Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay after a budget impasse between Republican President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats triggered the shutdown.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will hold a press conference Tuesday at New York's LaGuardia Airport to discuss the shortage. He has said controllers are getting jobs delivering food or driving for Uber to make ends meet.

Daniels said the lack of pay was a dangerous distraction and that "every day that this shutdown drags on, the system becomes less safe."

Frustration over delays pressures lawmakers to resolve issue

Southwest Airlines had 34 percent of its flights delayed on Monday, while American Airlines had 29 percent, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. For United Airlines, 19 percent of flights were delayed and for Delta Air Lines, 22 percent.

The delays and cancellations have frustrated the public and intensified scrutiny of the shutdown's impact, raising pressure on lawmakers to resolve it.

In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington.