There's been an increase in sick calls by air traffic controllers since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, according to Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy.
Air traffic controllers are required to work during the shutdown, but they don't get paid. They receive backpay after the shutdown ends.
The uptick in sick calls has been slight, Duffy said during a media briefing on Oct. 6, but he added that the DOT has seen about half of the controllers call out sick for some stations. Duffy did not say how many times that has happened and for what airports.
During the federal government shutdown in 2018-19, Congress and President Trump put an end to the 35-day closure on the day that a surge in work absences by air traffic controllers in Jacksonville and the Washington, D.C. area reverberated across U.S. airspace, leading to a ground halt on flights to New York LaGuardia and causing delays along the East Coast and beyond.
Duffy said that controllers would miss their first paycheck on Oct. 14 if this shutdown doesn't end by then. The agency will slow traffic to keep the skies safe if call-outs become a bigger problem, he said, but flight schedules could be compromised.
"If we see there's issues in the tower that are affecting controllers' ability to effectively control the airspace, we'll reduce the rate and you'll see delays or you might see a cancellation," he said. "I'm willing to do that before we're willing to risk anyone's life in the air."
Duffy also said that subsidized Essential Air Service flights could be an early casualty of the shutdown. Airlines use federal EAS subsidies to support flights to small communities that otherwise might not have air service. As of fall 2024, the EAS program was supporting service to 65 Alaska communities and 112 small destinations in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the continental U.S, according to the DOT.