Flight delays stemming from the shutdown would continue through the holidays and a "substantial" number of Americans were on course to see their holiday plans disrupted, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday.
Duffy spoke as a federal government shutdown was into its 40th day in Washington, D.C., where senators were set to convene for a rare Sunday session as negotiations in the upper chamber drag on. Neither side appears close to backing down, as Democrats and Republicans battle over expiring subsidies for the Affordable Care Act's healthcare exchanges.
Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Union, the secretary said that he thought a "substantial" number of Americans would not be able to make it home for Thanksgiving at all.
"I think the number is going to be substantial," he explained. "You look at the trend line, Jake, and it's only gotten worse as we've gone through the shutdown."
"Yesterday it was 81 [absences nationwide]," Duffy said. He indicated that many were seeking gig work during the shutdown to supplement missed paychecks. "To answer your question, it's only going to get worse."
"Two weeks before Thanksgiving, you're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle," he said.
Duffy's comments come as the Federal Aviation Administration has cut air traffic at 40 airports. The reductions come as air traffic controllers have not been paid during the shutdown. On Sunday, more than 2,000 flights in the U.S. have been canceled and another 7,000 delayed. Though some of those flights could have been impacted by weather or reason unrelated to the shutdown.
Controllers are set to miss another paycheck on Tuesday.
“The problem I have too, is, I’m short air traffic controllers. I’m trying to get more air traffic controllers...certified,” said Duffy, who said he was between 1,000-2,000 controllers short across the entire U.S. system. “I used to have about four controllers retire a day before the shutdown. I’m now up to about 15 or 20 a day retiring.”
“So this is going to live on, in air travel well beyond the time frame that this government opens back up,” he added.
Duffy’s warnings come as the Senate appears little closer to striking a deal on ending the shutdown. Republicans have offered a clean bill to extend funding for the government, while Democrats are refusing to lend votes in support without an agreement to extend Obamacare subsidies through at least 2026. Currently set to expire at the end of the year, those subsidies ending will likely trigger massive premium spikes for millions of Americans currently buying healthcare plans off of government-run exchanges set up through the Affordable Care Act.
Duffy told CNN that the Defense Department had offered to reinforce staffing numbers with U.S. military personnel, and said that the agency was reviewing it as a possibility.
"The secretary of war texted me yesterday and said, 'I might have some air traffic controllers. If you could use them, I'm gonna offer them to you,’” said Duffy. “I don't know that I can, Jake, because they're not certified in the airspaces that we need them. But if I can, I'm going to use them."
Air traffic control is a key area that often suffers during government shutdowns, and this one is no different. Thousands of controllers across the country have now been working without pay since early October.
The nation has suffered a deficit of air traffic controllers which dates to the Reagan administration, when a breakdown in contract negotiations between the government and a controllers’ union led the president to fire more than 11,000 controllers nationwide. The system never fully recovered.
On Friday, delays spiked even as the FAA began implementing traffic reduction strategies nationwide to alleviate the workload on the remaining controllers. On Saturday, numerous major airports including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas Airport experienced high numbers of flight delays.
Experts predict thousands of flights could be canceled if a shutdown continues through the Thanksgiving holiday. Friday’s traffic reductions represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.
That, in turn, has left some airlines in a bind as many Americans book holiday travel months in advance. On social media, companies such as Delta and American Airlines have sought to reassure passengers that delays and canceled flights due to the shutdown would not ruin their plans.
“We are providing additional flexibility to all of our customers during the impacted travel period to change, cancel or refund their flights, including our basic economy fares, without penalty,” Delta said in a statement.
