Air traffic controllers will get most of their pay within two days after the federal government reopens, but traffic restrictions at the nation’s busiest airports could continue, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.
Duffy spoke at O’Hare Airport, which led the nation in flight cancellations over the weekend as the season’s first major winter storm compounded government-mandated airspace restrictions.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic cuts took effect Friday, with airlines initially canceling 4% of flights. Cancellations were expected to scale up to 10% by this Friday.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 121 flights at O’Hare were canceled, the second most in the country after New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware.
Duffy’s announcement comes after the U.S. Senate passed a funding package Monday night, paving the way to end the longest government shutdown in history. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the package as soon as Wednesday, and the shutdown could end before the end of the week.
At O’Hare, Duffy said air traffic controllers, who have been working without full pay, will receive 70% of their pay within 24 to 48 hours of the government reopening and the rest within a week.
But he did not give a timeline for how soon the airspace restrictions may be lifted, saying it would depend on controller staffing and safety data in the coming days.
“We are going to look at the data and make the best decisions possible to keep the traveling public safe,” Duffy said. “When that data changes, we’ll start taking down [the restrictions] from 6 [percent] to 4, 2, and get back to normal air travel.”
Franklin McIntosh, acting chief operating officer of the air traffic organization at the FAA, speaks to reporters Tuesday at O’Hare. Last week the FAA imposed cuts to flights at major U.S. airports in response to the government shutdown. Those cuts could linger even after the government reopens.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Duffy praised the eight Senate Democratic Caucus members, among them Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who voted with Republicans to advance the funding package.
Still, he warned that there could be “massively more disruptions” to air travel this weekend if the government is not reopened soon, which could see cancellations top 10% and some airlines grounding planes.
At O’Hare, Duffy also was asked about President Donald Trump’s criticism of air traffic controllers who took sick leave or otherwise did not show up to work without pay.
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,'” Trump said on social media Monday, referring to some air traffic controllers who have called in sick or taken on other jobs during the shutdown.
He added that those who have not taken time off are “GREAT PATRIOTS” and would each receive a $10,000 bonus.
Duffy said Tuesday that he met with air traffic controllers at O’Hare and praised those who continued to work without pay. He said that 15 to 20 controllers are retiring every day and some younger controllers are leaving the profession.
He said he was “aligned” with the president on offering a bonus to air traffic controllers who have not missed work, and he added that his agency would “take action” against controllers who “systemically weren’t doing their job.”