FAA to reduce air traffic by 10% at many airports for safety : NPR

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy (left) and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced Wednesday that the FAA will reduce air traffic at many busy airports to maintain safety during the government shutdown, which has led to a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration will reduce air traffic by 10% at many busy airports, the agency announced Wednesday, in an effort to keep the nation’s airspace safe during the government shutdown.

The FAA plans to reduce air traffic in 40 “high-volume markets” starting Friday. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters the agency wants to reduce pressure at those airports before safety is compromised.

“We simply cannot ignore it,” Bedford said, “when early indicators tell us we can act today to prevent the situation from getting worse.”

The FAA has already delayed flights at some airports due to a widespread staffing shortage among air traffic controllers.

The government shutdown, now in its sixth week, has taken a growing toll on controllers, who are forced to work without pay until it ends. Some have taken second jobs and many are sick. Even before the shutdown, the system was short of more than 3,000 certified controllers.

Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they would meet with airline executives to determine how to implement the cuts fairly before announcing the details.

They did not immediately announce which airports would be affected by the reductions. But the agency reported persistent staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities around some of the nation’s busiest airports, including major air hubs in Dallas, Houston, Newark, New Jersey and Phoenix.

Earlier this week, NPR spoke with several air traffic controllers who said morale within the agency was already low before the government shutdown, due to a long-standing staffing shortage in the system, mandatory overtime and stagnant wages. They said morale was even lower during the longest government shutdown on record. They asked NPR not to use their names because they fear retaliation from the FAA.

“I think we’re reaching a tipping point,” said an air traffic controller who works at a Midwest facility that handles high-altitude traffic. “It was around the time of the last shutdown that people started to get fed up.”

More than a month had passed since the last government shutdown in 2018 and 2019, when a small number of air traffic controllers at a few key installations called in sick, causing major disruptions at airports across the East Coast.

The cuts announced Wednesday could cause even more disruption, forcing airlines to cancel or reschedule thousands of flights a day.

Secretary Duffy acknowledged that this would likely cause widespread frustration. But he added that the decision was not taken lightly.

“Our thoughts are with those whose flights will be disrupted,” Duffy said. “That’s what we think we need to do to make sure we maintain that safety profile.”

Bedford said he couldn’t remember a similar situation in his 35 years working in aviation.

“Again, we are in new territory in terms of government shutdowns,” Bedford said. “And we look forward to the time when we can return to business as usual.”