Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made a startling prediction Sunday that flight cancelations and delays in the United States were “only going to get worse” as the government shutdown reached its 33rd day.
Duffy sat down with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan Sunday to discuss the impact the government shutdown has had on transportation, particularly on air travel. While the Trump administration found funds to pay active-duty service members, it’s left air traffic controllers without pay, many of whom have now missed paychecks, even as Duffy continues to urge them to report to work.
Given the recent low-speed collision between two planes at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Brennan asked Duffy at what point would he consider the situation to become a safety emergency. Duffy said that his agency would halt air traffic altogether before air travel became a safety issue, but that delays and disruptions were largely outside of his control.
“We've seen problems at LA, in Dallas, in DC, Boston, Atlanta. And so I think it's only going to get worse,” Duffy said.
“We have controllers who, some of them are new controllers. We have trainee controllers who are very helpful in the tower. They don't make a lot of money, and they're now confronted, they haven't had a paycheck for over a month… I've encouraged them all to come to work. I want them to come to work, but they're making life decisions that they shouldn't have to make.”
Air traffic controllers received a partial payment in mid-October, but have since missed their November payment entirely, a dynamic that has led to major shortages of air traffic controllers across the country, with 35 air traffic control sites currently facing shortages according to The New York Times.
Duffy was also pressed as to why the Trump administration couldn’t find funds to pay air traffic controllers amid the shutdown, similar to how it managed to partially fund the military. Duffy argued that there were “strict rules” around how the administration could pay air traffic controllers, proclaiming “we have to follow the law” before pivoting to criticize former President Barack Obama.
“You remember under Barack Obama's shutdown, he was trying to gate off open air monuments in Washington, DC, and were shutting down parks just walking paths,” Duffy said. “President Trump has tried to make it less painful on the American people.”
