Air traffic controllers will miss their paychecks Tuesday because of the ongoing government shutdown, raising concerns that mounting financial stress could take a toll on the already understaffed employees who guide thousands of flights each day.
Flight delays are becoming more common across the country as more controllers call out sick because the Federal Aviation Administration was already so short on controllers before the shutdown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Nick Daniels have continued to emphasize the pressure that controllers are feeling. They say the problems are likely to only get worse the longer the shutdown continues.
Not only are controllers worrying about how to pay for their mortgages and groceries, but Daniels said some of them are also grappling with how to pay for the medicine needed to keep their children alive. Duffy said he heard from one controller who had to tell his daughter she couldn’t join the traveling volleyball team she had earned a spot on because he couldn’t afford the cost during the shutdown.