Transport secretary says 35-day shutdown is causing severe air traffic controller shortages and warns of ‘mass chaos’
The US may close portions of its airspace if the federal government shutdown continues, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has warned.
Duffy made the announcement on Tuesday, as the government entered its 35th day of shutdown, tying the record for the longest in history.
The shutdown, which began on 1 October, has since left shortages of up to 3,000 air traffic controllers, according to the administration, in addition to at least 11,000 more receiving zero wages despite working as essential workers over the last two weeks.
Duffy cautioned of “mass chaos” if the government were still shutdown in a week’s time, adding: “You will see mass flight delays. You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it, because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”
