A startling radio message arrived from an air traffic control tower near Los Angeles less than a week after the federal government shutdown: “Tower closed due to staffing.”
Without enough air traffic controllers to direct planes to and from Hollywood Burbank Airport, the tower remained dark for nearly six hours on Oct. 6, leaving pilots to coordinate their movements among themselves. Flight delays averaged two and a half hours in one of the first clear signs that the lockdown was already having a negative impact on the country’s aviation system.
Since the shutdown began on October 1, the Federal Aviation Administration has reported control device shortages in cities across the United States, from airports in Boston and Philadelphia, to control centers in Atlanta and Houston. Flight delays extended to airports in Nashville, Dallas, Newark and others.
Indeed, there has been an increase in unscheduled absences among security screening devices at some airports. The union representing TSA employees says the absences have not yet caused major disruptions, but warned that long lines at security checkpoints could soon become a reality after workers receive their final paychecks over the weekend.
Experts and union leaders say the disruptions are a stark reminder that the aviation system is already strained by chronic understaffing and outdated technology. They warn that cracks in the system could quickly deepen the longer the shutdown lasts and critical aviation workers remain without their regular paychecks.
“It’s like drought the year after drought,” Greg Rife, CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, told The Associated Press.
The problems continued for years
These concerns are not new. In 2019, the aviation system collapsed under the weight of a 35-day government shutdown — the longest in US history — during President Donald Trump’s first term.
About three weeks later, air traffic controllers, many of whom work up to 60 hours a week, sued the government over unpaid salaries. One terminal at Miami International Airport had to close because security screeners were calling in sick in large numbers. Some even quit altogether.
“Here we are, many years later, and the problems have not been addressed,” said aviation attorney Ricardo Martinez Cid, a Florida certified aviation law expert who regularly represents accident victims. “We are now in a worse position when we were notified. We have had the opportunity to address the matter.”
Since then, the country has faced repeated warnings. In January, a commercial plane and a military helicopter crashed over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. A series of equipment failures and radar outages this year also highlighted the need for upgrades.
Controller shortage at a “critical” point.
Before the recent shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were already dealing with staffing shortages. This includes a shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said staffing levels have reached a “critical” point, the lowest in decades. The shortage is so severe that even a few air traffic controllers who lose their jobs could disrupt operations at already understaffed facilities.
“Moreover, they are working with unreliable equipment,” he said.
The shutdown began as the Federal Aviation Administration began to make some progress in addressing the shortage of controllers and upgrading the outdated equipment that relies on them and that continues to disrupt flights when they break down.
The agency says it met its goal of hiring 2,000 monitors this year after streamlining the application process at its academy in Oklahoma City, but it will take years to eliminate the shortage. It has just begun looking for companies to help oversee a $12.5 billion effort to overhaul its outdated and complex technology systems.
Now, the shutdown is delaying those much-needed efforts. Union leaders say the staff shortage could be worse by the time the government reopens.
Lockdowns may increase employment gaps
Johnny Jones, treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees that represents TSA workers, expressed concern that the shutdown could prompt more security monitors to leave the agency, especially given the uncertainty workers have already faced this year. This includes the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke their collective bargaining rights.
At the same time, Daniels warned, it could spark fear among new controllers and trainees who might reconsider their entire careers to avoid working in future closures.
It’s a long-term concern. In 2019, after the 35-day shutdown ended, a congressional committee hearing looked into the impacts on air travel.
The union leader representing air traffic controllers at the time warned: “All of these air traffic controllers and aviation safety specialists have been used as pawns in a political battle that has nothing to do with aviation. This is wrong and must not be allowed to happen again.”
At the hearing, there were also bipartisan calls for reform to keep FAA funding “uninterrupted, even when the rest of the government shuts down,” as one lawmaker put it. Stories have been shared of TSA wardens and agents taking on extra jobs to pay rent, mortgage and other bills despite working longer shifts to fill staffing gaps.
Lawmakers and industry officials who testified agreed that the shutdown made the aviation system less safe.
“We are appealing to all concerned to please heed not just our warnings, but the warnings of the entire stakeholder community,” said Nick Calio, then president and CEO of Airlines for America, an industry trade group that represents airlines including Delta, United and Southwest. “This is a vicious budget cycle of stop and start with little or no stability or as it is.” “It is expected that you should simply stop.”
However, the system is still vulnerable to shutdowns seven years later, Martinez-Cid said.
“We are long overdue for a wake-up call.”
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