WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. air traffic could be “chopped up” if conditions worsen. Federal government shutdown drags on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that the country is heading into a busy Thanksgiving travel holiday season.
Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered a reduction in flights. The busiest airport in the country Some air traffic controllers have not come to work without pay for nearly a month.
The cuts began Friday at 4%; increases to 10% These will be in effect from 6am to 10pm local time and will affect all commercial airlines.
As of 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, 1,375 flights were canceled, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware. This comes after more than 1,500 cancellations on Saturday.
Duffy said additional flight reductions, perhaps up to 20%, may be necessary, especially if air traffic controllers have not received pay for two years in a row.
“More and more air traffic controllers are not getting paid every day, and they’re not coming to work more and more,” Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday.”
and he prepared the American people for what they might face during the war. busy thanksgiving holiday.
“Looking out two weeks from now, I think air travel is going to slow down a little bit as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel and everyone wants to travel to see family,” Duffy said.
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With “very few” air traffic controllers operating, there will be “several take-offs and landings” and thousands of cancellations, he said.
“There’s going to be massive disruption. I think a lot of Americans are angry. I think we have to be honest about what this situation is. It’s not going to get better,” Duffy said. “Until air traffic controllers are paid, things will only get worse.”
The government has been short on air traffic controllers for years, and multiple presidential administrations have tried to persuade retired air traffic controllers to keep their jobs. Duffy said the closures are making the problem worse and causing some air traffic controllers to retire early.
“Up to 15 or 20 people a day are retiring,” Duffy told CNN.
Duffy said he received a text message from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offering to hire a military air traffic controller, but it’s unclear whether the employee is qualified to work on the civilian system.
Duffy rejected Democrats’ accusations that the flight cancellations were a political tactic, saying they were necessary because of the increasing number of near misses caused by the excess tax system.
“We needed to take action to keep people safe,” Duffy said. “I’m doing the best I can in the chaos the Democrats have pushed into us.”
