Published On 28 Oct 2025
Due to the government shutdown, American air traffic controllers will miss their paychecks, raising concerns that the already understaffed staff will be subject to increased financial strain as they manage thousands of flights every day.
On Tuesday, checks were due.
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Because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was already running out of controllers before the shutdown, flight delays are becoming more frequent across the nation as more controllers report being sick.
The pressure placed on controllers has been continued by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels. According to them, the issues are only likely to get worse as the shutdown drags on.
Some controllers are grappling with paying for the medication needed to keep their children alive, Daniels said, not just about the mortgage payments and groceries they pay.
One controller told his daughter that she couldn’t join the traveling volleyball team because he couldn’t afford the cost during the shutdown, Duffy claimed.
At a press conference held on Tuesday at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Daniels remarked, “Air traffic controllers have to have 100% of focus 100% of the time.” “And I’m watching the arrival of air traffic controllers.” I understand the narratives. They are concerned about having to pay for their daughter’s medication. I received a message from a controller stating that I’m running out of money. And she dies if she doesn’t receive the medication she needs. That’s the end. ‘”
When there aren’t enough controllers to ensure safety, the FAA limits the number of flights that land and take off in an airport. At airports like New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport and California’s Burbank Airport, delays frequently lasted hours or even hours. However, Los Angeles International Airport had to halt all flights for almost two hours over the weekend.
On Tuesday, controllers are organizing to stand outside at least 17 airports across the country to distribute flyers urging the shutdown to end as soon as possible.
Money worries
During the shutdown, more controllers have called in sick, both because they are frustrated with the situation and because they need extra time to work for a second job rather than to stay at their regular jobs of six days a week. Although Duffy has claimed that controllers who abuse their sick time may be fired, the majority of them have kept coming to work every day.
As controllers focus more on finances, according to air traffic controller Joe Segretto, who works at a regional radar facility that oversees flights flying into and out of New York airports.
Segretto asserted that “the pressure is real.” “These planes are being kept safe by us.” We have trainees who are attempting to learn a new job that is very fast-paced, extremely stressful, and extremely complex, and are now concerned about how to pay their bills.
Duffy claimed that the government’s long-standing shortage of about 3, 000 controllers is also being made more difficult by the shutdown. He claimed that some Oklahoma City air traffic controller students have left the program, and that younger controllers who are still receiving training may decide to leave.
Duffy claimed that the shutdown is preventing me from achieving those objectives.
