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“Our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible. Reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations. This is not based on light airline travel locations. This is about where the pressure is and how to really deviate the pressure,” Bedford said Wednesday.
Duffy defended the decision as a “proactive measure,” saying that it’s meant to prevent a serious safety crisis as the shutdown starves the FAA of staff and funding. “We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent, you know, things from deteriorating,” Bedford added. “So the system is extremely safe today will be extremely safe tomorrow.”
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which represents over 10,800 certified controllers, has sounded the alarm for weeks — warning that the shutdown is crippling the system and pushing exhausted workers to the brink.
NATCA President Nick Daniels has blasted Congress for leaving controllers stranded without pay while continuing to reject measures that would reopen the government. “These American patriots, they are the unsung heroes that Secretary Duffy speaks about so often. They are the ones that have been thrust into the spotlight, into center focus of a shutdown. And air traffic controllers, we don’t start shutdowns, we’re not responsible for ending shutdowns. Who does? Congress,” Daniels told Fox News.
Controllers are now logging six-day, ten-hour workweeks, covering shifts amid an existing 3,800-person staffing shortfall. Thousands are considered “essential” employees — required to report for duty even though they’ve received $0 paychecks since mid-October. Many have taken second jobs just to keep their families afloat.
The shutdown has also forced the FAA to furlough 2,350 support staff, halt new hiring and training, and suspend maintenance on vital radar and communication systems. Industry experts say that’s leaving the National Airspace System more fragile by the day.
From October 31 to November 2, the FAA logged 98 “staffing triggers,” forcing ground stops, reroutes, and slowed arrival rates across the nation. At one point, nearly half of the 30 busiest U.S. airports reported staffing shortages — with New York-area facilities operating at just 20 percent of normal levels.
NATCA has issued urgent warnings about the situation, saying the shutdown “erodes essential layers of safety” and makes America’s airspace “less safe with each passing day.”
The move marks another major consequence of the Biden administration’s failure to resolve the ongoing Democrat-led shutdown, which has become the longest in U.S. history. While the House passed a clean continuing resolution a month ago, Senate Democrats have blocked it repeatedly, demanding unrelated policy wins before reopening the government.
As the crisis worsens, travelers will likely pay the price for Washington’s gridlock — while the nation’s air traffic controllers, once again, are left keeping the skies safe with no paycheck and dwindling support.
