The FAA will reduce flights 10% at 40 of the top airports in the country starting Friday morning because of air traffic control staffing shortages that have resulted from the government shutdown.
- Air traffic controller pay is deferred
- So many aren’t coming to work
- And that’s led to significant delays – at different airports each day (and in some cases there have been airports without dedicated controllers on duty).
The controller shortage is real: 20–40% of controllers have no‑showed at some large facilities this week. But it’s not yet clear what a 10% reduction in flights looks like – how that will spread across airline schedules, and how much that’ll be shared by private and general aviation.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are meeting today with airlines to sort out how to implement this reduction.
From a safety standpoint, I’m not sure that such a broad-based reduction in flights is necessary to address specific airport shortages, and at airports where staffing shortages are most acute on a given day it’s also probably not enough. They’re demanding flight cuts at airports that will be fully staffed, as well as ones that aren’t.
And reducing the workload on fully staffed airports does nothing to help out at airports that aren’t, because the FAA has spent years blocking the use of remote towers that are used worldwide, even though they’d help solve the controller shortage (and at a fraction of the cost).
Norway’s Bodø Remote Tower Centre
What a network-wide reduction does help with is bottlenecks at TRACONs and 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, rather than the specific airports that see the cuts.
If a shutdown deal is reached, of course, then the reduction doesn’t have to go into effect. As of this writing Polymarket odds suggest a 40% chance the shutdown lasts past mid-month (but a 60% chance that it doesn’t!). In the meantime, airlines are feeding the controllers who aren’t receiving their grocery money.
The Department of Transportation is escalating the crisis. Rhetoric is explicitly tied to the politics of the shutdown. This 10% cut is clearly leverage, even if it’s also addressing a real shortage (and addressing it late, there are things FAA could and should have been doing for 20 years to address shortages that they’ve failed to do). I’d also note that in the last shutdown the air traffic controller union broadly supported privatization – private controllers don’t go without pay when politicians fail to authorize spending or borrowing.
It was controller absences in the Northeast on January 25, 2019 that quickly brought a deal to end that shutdown the same day.
We’ll have to wait for details, but my strong hunch is that we’ll see a planned schedule and flow reduction coordinated with airlines, not a legal slot order applied uniformly at each airport.
The Democrats are really petty.
Holding the country hostage to they can keep the dead and dying Obama care disaster going.
It’s the Republicans fault.
End the democrat shutdown.
As DJT himself has said before:
“A shutdown falls on the President’s lack of leadership. He can’t even control his own party and get people together in a room. A shutdown means the president is weak.”
“If you say who gets fired, it always has to be the top. Problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top…”
“The fact is that the President… is not leading and not getting people into a room.”
Republicans control all three branches of government; they are the ones holding the country hostage, just so the ultra-rich can get tax cuts, while the rest of us suffer, starve, and can’t fly. If Republicans want Democrats support for a bi-partisan budget, they should negotiate and compromise with them in good-faith.
I honestly feel for them, it they should have their back pay reduced by this much
No the demons own this. They refuse to vote on the 13 or so CR bills that have been put in front of them.
I feel bad for those who have contracted TDS. Wishing y’all a speedy recovery.
My enemies aren’t in Russia or China. They are in my own country, they call themselves Democrats and “progressives”.
Why do I have a suspicion that the order will go out to close ZLA, ZOA, ZDV and ZAU, being blue states and all? Probably ZNY as well.
@ Walter Barry — For all I care, this can go on for several months if that is what it takes for the Democrats get what they are demanding. Eventually, the party with all the power will have to cave when the economy melts down. Alternatively, they can abolish the Filibuster and stand idly by in a few years when DC finally gains statehood and SCOTUS gains 10 Democratic justices. Elections have consequences.
@Gene
At that point th military should take over. Democrats are the fifth column.
@Walter Barry you are a true patriot. Only a true patriot would support nations who have interfered with our elections, engaged in cyberwarfare against US entities and stole trade secret from US businesses over other Americans who have a different political viewpoint. Calling people who are fighting to ensure millions of Americans have access to food and healthcare enemies says so much about you.
Turning your back on the weak and vulnerable could be one of the most Unamerican and Unchristian things to come out of this administration.
I hope when the day comes that you are old and infirm, having been dumped in a nursing home by the kids you raised with the same values as yours, that society is more compassionate with you than you are being with it.
@Gene & @Parker — Well said. Hold the line.
@Denver Refugee — I’d expect as much because this administration is petty.
@David P — Exactly. T. Devotion Syndrome. He’s not a god or a king.
@Walter Barry — Thank you for at least explicitly admitting that you are indeed a traitor.
Republican President, Republican Senate, Republican Congress, Republican Supreme Count. Republican shutdown.
I stopped being a Patriot a long time ago. I hate this country.
I’m forced to work to the lazy leeches in our society can survive.
Democracy has failed.
@George
Looks like you don’t understand how the senate works.
Not surprising, most lefties don’t.
Why don’t we just use the 30 billion in tariffs that we raised to cover these issues?
@Walter Barry — Vile. Absolutely vile, sir.
As writer and political commentator David Frum first said, “If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.”
Case in point: Walter Barry.
@Walter Barry — You know far less @George.
Anyone else seen that ‘same sh*t, different hat’ four-panel political cartoon going around? Mhm.
Demorats THEMSELVES have said THEY are causing this shutdown. They KNOW people will suffer. They don’t care!
They are scum
We need the Walter Berrys of the world to remind us that evil truly exists and he is the embodiement…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=832804479496610&set=a.106350678808664
Too many flights already .
@J Dombrowski — Nah, Republicans just need to negotiate in good faith on a bi-partisan budget, and reopen the government together. It’s not hard.
And, no, your fellow countrymen are not scum. That’s reprehensible.
All with a conscience should reject those like Walter, who admitted above that he’d rather side with the CPP or Putin. Treasonous.
@1990 – “You’ve heard of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln?”
“Yes.”
“Morons!”
@ J Dombrowski — No, they DO care. They are willing to hold the line until they get what people need (affordable healthcare). Do you think it is reasonable to increase health insuarnce premiums from $7,224 to $31,764 per year (407% increase) for an age 60 couple with $85,000 income? THESE ARE REAL NUMBERS.
To the many who keep saying republican and where the republicans have majorities….You’re telling us you don’t understand the constitution or what you’re talking about without telling us. The framers (smartly) put into place the filibuster for a reason; takes more than a majority and in this case more than one party to end this. It’s a D driven problem and will be until they care enough about those impacted. To state anything else is ignorant or propoganda, this has nothing to do with healthcare, subsidies, or immigration; unless you/they want it to be and then in that case the shutdown blame should be placed on the people(s) adding issues to the single issue at hand.
Ironically, the end of the healthcare subsidies was a provision put into place by the very people that are now wanting them extended- they (D’s) put in the expiration date, they are the ones responsible for the outcome. For those that don’t like the expiration perhaps more anger should be placed at the hypocrites looking for the alternative party to bail them out for their own mismanagement.
@Denver Refugee — You’d hope we, as a people, advance in 250 years.
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter, 1820, predicted that the nation’s division over slavery could lead to violence.
George Washington was the only one to free his slaves in his will.
Some founders, like Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, were part of anti-slavery societies.
What would you like to see happen with all this, oh wise safe from Peña Blvd?
@1990
The KKK and confedeates were democrats.
that one?
@Gary72
Evil is the democrat party.
@Mark Greenberg
Lefties can only speak from a position of emotion, their entire ideology is based on feelings.
@Mark Greenberg — Nice try, but no one here is confused by the rules or procedures. That is not the issue. You can pretend it is, but that won’t help your cause. The truth is that Republicans have not negotiated in good faith with Senate Democrats to earn any more votes for their bills.
Ultimately, it actually is about healthcare, because Democrats want to ensure Americans can actually afford their health insurance premiums, since Republicans removed those subsidies in the BBB, which they passed using budget reconciliation earlier this year (loophole that allows 51 votes, not the typical 60) without any bipartisan support. You already know all this, or should.
Somehow the ICE thugs can still be paid to violently kidnap landscapers, and construction workers, and Trump can send $40 billion of our tax dollarsto Argentina, but can’t pay air traffic controllers? Nor pay for food for children. The tariff taxes are sending prices higher for everyone. Is America great again yet?
Stop trying to add 1.5 trillion in additional spending and well get a budget passed. Till then enjoy the rot. I can survive very well with zero government open. Can you? If not reevaluate your life.
@BA — Ok, so you’re just a anarcho-libertarian chaos agent. Got it. Oof.
@Walter Barry – Here is an objective, non-emotional response…you are morally bankrupt. It doesn’t make me angry. It doesn’t make me feel anything other than pity for you. I don’t know what had to have happened in your life for you to hate other people so much. If trying to protect the healthcare access of 14 million Americans makes me an emotional drama queen I will wear that sash with pride.
@Mark Greenberg – The amount of spin you, @Walter Barry and other are putting on this is enough to give someone vertigo. Both parties have used the power of the filibuster to block things they do not like. You will recall during the Obama administration that the Senate filibustered and then, when they had the majority, simply refused to do anything. So, please do not insult our intelligence by clutching your pearls and acting like the GOP has never used parliamentary procedure to their advantage. It’s horse sh!t and you know it.
I, like many Americans, am being inconvenienced by the shutdown. And, as someone who was brought up with a strong moral compass, I am perfectly content to be inconvenienced if, in the end, it means 14 million people will not lose their healthcare benefits. That’s what being a part of a community is about. That is what Jesus meant when he spoke of personal sacrifice and charity.
As for the cuts, this is nothing more than political posturing and, the funny thing is, has we invested in next-gen ATC already we wouldn’t even need the number of ATC staff we have today. It’s a shame Congress has been kicking that can down the lane for the past 40 years.
@J Dombrowski by your logic:
Republicans THEMSELVES have said THEY are okay with the aggressive tactics being used by ICE. They KNOW people will suffer. American citizens are being rounded up and thrown into detention by ICE without due process. They don’t care!
They are scum.
See, your argument can be used on both sides.
@ BA — I did not hear a majority of Republicans complaining about the $5.0 trillion spending increase (welfare for the wealthy) under OBBBA. Why is that OK, but not a “$1.5 trillion increase”
in spending for people’s healthcare? And, by the way, the 10-year cost of extending the enhanced COVID-era ACA subsidies is estimated at a measly $350 billion to $410 billion, NOT $1.5 trillion. At least get your facts straight, dude. Maybe tuning into something other than FoxNews would help educate you of some facts.
“Let us triple healthcare premiums or we’ll ruin Thanksgiving” is some sort of flex, but I’m not sure it’s going to play politically the way the GOP thinks it will.
@Mark Greenberg the filibuster is not in the Constitution. It’s actually a quirk of the rules – Under original Senate rules, cutting off debate required a motion that passed with a simple majority. But in 1806, after Vice President Aaron Burr argued that the rule was redundant, the Senate stopped using the motion. Cloture didn’t even exist until 1917. Rule changes to return to disallowing the filibuster is a simple 50+1 vote. Please get your basic civics straight before commenting
@1990 – you’re proving your own ignorance. No one, removed the subsidies you speak of. Democrats put a sunset date (expiration) into the subsidies when they passed the them. Since you read uninformed, I will explain this clearly- Democrats, not put the expiration date in, the Republicans nor the “BBB” have anything to do with them. Educate yourself and be mad at the correct people….or be an uniformed contributor to the debate.
@Parker, what are you talking about, we are possibly in agreement but your tone has me confused. If you’re in saying that Democrats are blocking the opening of the government by the use of the filibuster, we agree and are factually correct. The democrats use of the filibuster is what is keeping the government closed. It’s an amazing part of the constitution and a powerful tool to protect freedoms. My point was/is that republicans are not keeping the government closed simply because they have a majority; to break a filibuster in this (and many) instances it requires the minority party to join the majority.
I have my opinion on who is right/wrong, but who is keeping the government closed if status quo is kept, that is the Democrats.
@jon – the constitution is a living document; I learned that elementary school.
This is a stupid argument, but sometimes stupid people need an education. The constitution allowed a minority of senators to block a vote. It was streamlined within senate rules, within the framework of the CONSTITUTION in order to move progress and bills forward. Please don’t go back google and/or AI to spit you what you need to respond and instead educate yourself on what is going on and the rules that apply to it.
@Mark I don’t think “leaving the rules to the Senate to decide later” is the framers taking an action in support or against the filibuster specifically. If it was so important, why wasn’t it written down? If the framers intended it, why wasn’t it really used until 1837 and rarely used until almost 200 years later? The Constitution is a living document but that hardly means the framers are responsible or could have foreseen for every decision the Houses would make.
The Republicans could get rid of the filibuster, right now, if they really were so inclined. They are the majority party in both houses and they have options on the table. Democrats are not the only party with agency.
@Mark Greenberg — Calling others dumb on here is nothing new; it’s a tired old trope. Clearly, you’re just afraid; perhaps, Tuesday’s election outcomes (not just NYC, NJ, VA, PA, CA, but also, deep ‘red’ GA, MS, yikes) were a ‘wake-up call’ for many who thought ‘their’ President is unstoppable. The midterms will be here in less than a year; if your party isn’t going to actually deliver on its promises (namely, on affordability, which is really why the won, and, honestly, I doubt they ever really cared or intended to do anything about it, because it’s merely a party for the ultra-rich), it’s gonna lose, again and again. People are finally realizing they got conned by Republicans, yet again. Time for a new Progressive era that actually serves the people, not just those at the top. Anyway, please do call others dumb some more; it’s hilarious.
Let some congressmen/women and senators getting stuck at DCA (albeit in a lounge) for hours on end and or miss a connection home. ATC will get funding overnight.
Do you really think most politicians care about you?
@ Mark Greenberg — Don’t play dumb. The Democrats “put a sunset date” on subsidies when “they” passed them. Just like the Republicans “put a sunset date” on some tax cuts when “they” passed them in 2017. In both instances, the party in charge deferred negotiation to down the road. Well, we are there now on the healthcare subsidies. The Republicans have the losing hand on this one. If the Republicans are worried about spending (they aren’t), maybe they can end the tax cuts for the wealthy.
When Social Security benefits become subject to automatic 20-25% cuts in just 8 years, the red ink will really seriously flow. The government cannot cut existing retirees’ Social Security so deeply, else the econony will collapse. There really is no escape other than tax increases on the wealthiest.
@George Romey — That’s sly, sir. You’re attempting to ‘both-sides’ this, but, no, it’s not a ‘both-sides’ issue, and you already know that. Republicans are to blame here; they have so far failed to ‘earn’ any additional votes for their bad proposals.
Recall that Republicans passed ‘The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ earlier this year (simple majority vote, no bi-partisan support), which gave tax cuts to the ultra-rich while taking away healthcare for tens of millions of Americans. Passing their ‘CR’ (not ‘clean’ at all) without adding healthcare subsidies means those Americans are likely gonna die. Now, that may sound hyperbolic to some, but it’s real, and the Democrats, for all their faults, finally have a backbone; I still think that they picked a good cause, because healthcare is indeed a human right.
And, after Tuesday’s astoundingly positive results, I see no reason whatsoever for them to cave anytime soon, if ever. They can and should wait out 361 days until the midterms in 2026, if they want or need to. And, rest assured, blue states and cities will come together and look after the needy. I’ve already started to see it. Food banks, community organizations, etc. People care. Maybe the ‘red’ states can learn a thing or two, actually serve their people, embrace empathy, actually solve the ‘affordability’ crisis, instead of scapegoating brown/trans/immigrant, or whatever boogeyman they try next. We deserve better.
Markie, the filibuster was not (and is not) in the constitution, it came into being many years later as and off and on solution. At one point 50 years ago it was 2/3rd (67 votes) then lowered to 60. The GOP could get rid of it today if they wanted. Facts are stubborn things.
-Your humble teacher
“Republican President, Republican Senate, Republican Congress, Republican Supreme Count. Republican shutdown.” So, you know nothing about Senate procedures? This shutdown continues because the Dems have successfully (and inacurately) blamed the Republicans for it. Schumer and his ilk fear the radical left of his party will replace him unless he can appear sufficiently left wing.
Back in October 2013, Democrats and their media allies called the government shutdown a Republican “hostage situation.” The narrative was simple: extremist conservatives were recklessly holding the government (and the economy) ransom to kill Obamacare. Obama and Senate Democrats said the Affordable Care Act was settled law, passed by Congress, signed by the president, and upheld by the Supreme Court, so there would be no negotiations under threat. The media largely followed suit, parroting words like “ransom” and “extortion” while painting Republicans as radicals tearing their own party apart. Practically everyone on the left was screaming bloody murder at the time.
Now fast forward to today. The roles have flipped. Democrats are using the exact same brinkmanship they once condemned, and the mainstream media suddenly finds it noble. The truth is, the GOP was wrong then, and the Democrats are wrong now. Hypocrisy doesn’t become virtue just because it’s your team doing it. You don’t hold the federal government hostage to cram down your policy objectives. Period.
@Mike Hunt — ‘Oh no… anyways.’
Forget all that ‘hypocrisy’ talk. We know. They’re all a-holes.
So, tell us, what would you do, if you were in-charge? Nuclear option? Indefinite shutdown? Defund blue states? Civil war? Tell us.
I think that the rules will be changed to allow a majority to have the final say.
@jns — And when those 24,000,000 Americans lose healthcare, they’ll know who to blame… (the Republicans.)
@1990 – Facts first. Refusing to pass a clean continuing resolution is hostage taking, plain and simple. Shutdowns impose real costs on real people, they crater the economy, and they hand the narrative to your opponents. If your goal is to change policy, you do not achieve it by punishing federal workers and ordinary citizens, you achieve it by winning votes and arguments. A party that refuses to fund the government for leverage loses legitimacy, loses public support, and forfeits the moral high ground.
So what should Democrats do if they want results? Pass the clean CR, protect services, and keep the political battlefield where it belongs. On policy and on elections. Use reconciliation, targeted riders, litigation, and state level organizing to advance reforms, not a shutdown. In short, govern first and fight later. Weaponizing appropriations is a short sighted tactic that costs more than any temporary leverage it might yield. It is a shameful mistake. You’d be crying foul if the shoe was on the other foot and you bloody well know it.
@Mike Hunt — Ah, now that’s a ‘cool’ tactic… your opinions are the ‘facts,’ yet any actual facts you disagree with are mere opinions. Good one!
Ok, so, your plan: No plan. Just keep calling the other side hypocrites. Good one again!
Anyway. 360 days until midterms. Is blaming woke-trans-illegal-gender-mutilation going to work, again? I donno man; scapegoating can only getcha so far… might have to actually solve the whole ‘affordability’ issue.