Air travel across the U.S. is under growing pressure as the federal government shutdown continues to drag on, according to Airlines for America President and CEO, Christopher Sununu.
Air Travel Is ‘Slowly Getting Worse’
Sununu, the former Republican Governor of New Hampshire, said on Sunday that the situation in the aviation industry was deteriorating in real time amid the staffing shortages owing to the government shutdown, while appearing on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”
“It's slowly getting worse,” he said, noting that “at any given point, maybe 46 areas, flight centers had what they call staffing triggers,” where personnel levels dropped low enough to force slower operations. “They're going to sacrifice a little bit of speed for a lot of safety,” he added.
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Despite the growing delays, Sununu maintained that safety remains a top priority. “Safety is absolutely paramount,” he said.
The shutdown has forced many critical aviation workers, such as TSA agents and air traffic controllers, to continue working without pay. “They're working without pay… but even that would probably only be temporary,” he noted.
As such, he asked travelers to remain flexible and patient, saying, “We always say pack your patience, give yourself a little more time.”
Airlines Had Warned About Flight Disruptions
Late last month, on the eve of the government shutdown, a consortium of U.S. airliners, including Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) and American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) had warned that it could lead to flight disruptions.
“Congress must work quickly to avoid another harmful shutdown,” the industry consortium said in a statement last month, adding that aviation makes up 5% of the nation’s GDP, or $1.37 trillion.
As air traffic controllers continue to work without pay, other aviation workers are stepping up with free meals and other assistance to keep the industry moving along.
“Here we have airline pilots, flight attendants, and companies that are all rallying around their air traffic controllers. Now we just need the government to rally around us, too,” said Pete LeFevre, a union representative and air traffic controller based in Washington, D.C.
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Image by Miguel Lagoa via Shutterstock
