Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff.
Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay.
With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs.
Photo: Reuters
Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers are calling in sick rather than toiling without pay, leading to shortages.
Nearly 3,000 flight delays occurred by 5:30pm on Wednesday, following 10,000 delays on Monday and Tuesday with thousands tied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) slowing flights because of air traffic controller absences.
Staffing problems have already been reported in almost a dozen airports from Chicago and Boston to Burbank, California, and Houston, according to the FAA, with further issues expected at Newark, New Jersey, a major hub for the New York City area.
“Historically, there’s about 5 percent of delays that is attributed to staffing issues in our towers. Last couple days it has been 53 percent,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on Fox News. “My message to the air traffic controllers who work for DOT [the US Department of Transportation] is show up for work — you have a job to do.”
Air traffic control staffing issues during this shutdown have emerged earlier than the last major halt to government funding in 2019, during US President Donald Trump’s first term, leading to unexpected shortages in cities around the country.
“The bottom line is these controllers are stressed out, and they’re rebelling on this shutdown because they may not get paid,” Duffy said.
There appears to be little hope of a quick end to the shutdown, with Democrats refusing to back any funding bill that does not offer an extension of expiring healthcare subsidies for 24 million people.
US Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forcing votes most days on a temporary fix passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives, each one failing to garner sufficient Democratic votes.
Meanwhile Trump continues to wield the threat of turning many of the 750,000 enforced absences — known as furloughs — into permanent layoffs.
A draft memo circulated by the White House this week said furloughed workers are not guaranteed compensation for their time off — meaning many could lose out on back pay.
Some federal workers — including US Capitol Police — are set to miss part of their pay for the first time today — amping up pressure for Congress to end the crisis.
A bigger pain point comes on Wednesday next week, when 1.3 million active-duty service members — as well as tens of thousands of US National Guard members and thousands of US Coast Guard personnel — are due to miss their first paycheck.
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