WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d close U.S. airspace if officials determined air travel was dangerous, as the government shutdown stretches into its second month.
“If we thought that it was unsafe, we’ll shut the whole airspace down,” Duffy said on Monday in an interview with CNBC. He said that the U.S. isn’t there yet but the shutdown adds more risk to the aviation system.
The Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slow traffic at many airports last week due to rising controller staffing shortages since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.
The disruptions spilled through the weekend, with the FAA temporarily halting flights into Newark Liberty International Airport near New York on Sunday evening because of staffing shortfalls. The problems contributed to 9% of flights at the busy hub being canceled and 36% being delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
MORE THAN 3.2 million passengers have grappled with flight cancellations and delays related to staffing since the shutdown started, Airlines for America, a trade group, said on Monday.
The delays throw into question U.S. airlines’ ability to forecast capacity and cash in on the crucial holiday travel period that kicks off in earnest with the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.
America’s travel economy has already lost more than $4 billion due to the shutdown, the U.S. Travel Association along with hundreds of other travel-related groups and companies told lawmakers in a letter on Monday.
“With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers,” the letter said.
THE FAA said in a social media post that half of the 30 busiest facilities didn’t have enough staff on Friday. Nearly 80% of air traffic controllers were absent at facilities handling flights in the New York area that day, it added.
More than 6,200 U.S. flights were delayed Friday and nearly 500 were canceled, according to data from FlightAware.
