Transit sec Sean Duffy warns govt shutdown raises risk of US air travel crashes

Appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Duffy said the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration are “working overtime” to ensure safety, but the effects of unpaid and short-staffed air traffic controllers are being felt nationwide.

“We work overtime to make sure the system is safe,” Duffy said. “But we have to be honest. Does it add more risk to the system? Sure it does. We don’t want crashes.”

Asked by Brennan about reports that 80 percent of air traffic controllers were absent from New York–area airports the same day a United Airlines plane clipped another at LaGuardia, Duffy said he had not received a final report but suggested it was likely “pilot error.”

“Usually, when these planes are traveling very close to each other, it’s their job to stay away from one another,” he said. “That’s not controllers — it’s usually pilot error.”

Duffy said that if safety conditions deteriorate further, the FAA will slow or halt traffic altogether.

“We will stop traffic,” he said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We don’t want crashes, we want people to go safely.”

He described growing strain on the workforce, noting that some trainee controllers have not been paid in over a month and are struggling with basic expenses.

“They’re confronted with a decision: do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent, or do I go to work and not get paid?” Duffy said. “They shouldn’t have to make that decision.”

Asked why the administration could not find funding to pay controllers, Duffy said President Trump has “done all he can” to minimize the shutdown’s impact but is constrained by law.

“We’re looking for pots of money to pay essential workers, but there’s really strict rules around what money we can use,” he explained. “The simple answer is: vote to open the government.”

He warned that continued gridlock would worsen delays across major airports, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, and Boston.

“We’ve seen problems at LA, in Dallas, in DC, Boston, Atlanta — and I think it’s only going to get worse,” Duffy said.

Despite a shortage of thousands of controllers, Duffy said he has no plans to fire employees who fail to report amid the shutdown.

“When they’re making decisions to feed their families, I’m not going to fire air traffic controllers,” he said. “They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck.”

“They deserve a paycheck,” Duffy said. “Let’s open the government up and pay these people.”