Flyers could face travel Armageddon over the weekend if the government doesn’t reopen by then, Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy cautioned Tuesday.
More than 10% of flights could be delayed nationally, Duffy warned – adding that some airlines may even decide to ground their fleets altogether.
“You may find airlines that stop flying. Full stop,” Duffy said.
And last weekend’s travel delays – which saw thousands of flights cancelled and scores more delayed – would be “tiddlywinks” compared to what could happen this weekend if the government isn’t open again, Duffy said.
“It is going to radically slow down,” the secretary said. “So the house has to do its work.”
More than 4,500 flights were cancelled across the US last weekend in one of the worst travel weekends since the government shutdown began more than 40 days ago on Oct. 1.
Air traffic controllers have been calling in sick for work in droves as they go weeks without pay, leading to travel snafus throughout the country as airports are forced to limit the numbers of flight landings and landing rates to avoid potentially catastrophic accidents.
Such measures – known as staffing triggers, which are initiated when there aren’t enough controllers in airport towers to operate safely – were enacted 81 times on Saturday alone, Duffy said.
That resulted in nearly 19,000 delays between Saturday and Sunday.
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The situation had improved considerably by Tuesday — there were just four staffing triggers and more than 3,000 delays, and 1,200 cancellations – which Duffy said was a sign of optimism from airport staff as the end of the shutdown finally seems to be in sight.
A spending bill was approved by the Senate on Monday, and Congress is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday afternoon. From there, President Trump would need to sign the bill to reopen the government.
“I think our air traffic controllers are seeing an end to the shutdown and feel more hopeful and they’re coming into their facilities,” Duffy said.
Air traffic controllers would be furnished with 70% of their back pay within 48 hours of the re-opening, with the remaining sum coming within a week, Duffy explained.
But if Wednesday’s vote fails and the government remains shut down for another weekend, Duffy said there would be “massively more disruption” across the airways.
“It’s going to get much worse,” he said – while expressing optimism that the shutdown would be settled and controllers would be back to work by Thanksgiving on Nov. 27.
Duffy also expressed gushing support for Trump’s idea to give air traffic controllers who stayed on the job throughout the shutdown a $10,000 bonus – and supported penalizing workers who called out, while questioning their “patriotism.”
“President Trump? Brilliant!” Duffy said, adding that controllers who stayed on the job should be invited to the White House to be personally handed a check from the president himself.
“I’m aligned with the president, they should get a bonus, it’ll be $10,000,” Duffy said.
As for workers who called out sick during the shutdown – many of whom have said they were forced to do so while juggling childcare and basic family needs – Duffy said the US DOT would “look at” them and was weighing penalties, especially for those who called out before their paychecks stopped coming.
“I’m concerned about their patriotism,” Duffy said.
