Air traffic controllers going without pay as Trump administration warns about travel impacts

The lingering shutdown of the federal government could have long-term ramifications on how New Yorkers get around, including by causing delays to flights and in the construction of two major transit infrastructure projects, the nation’s top transportation official said Monday.

Some air traffic controllers are already working without pay during the ongoing shutdown, according to union officials. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, at a news conference at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday, said some airports have seen "a slight tick up in sick calls" from air traffic controllers, which he said could be attributed to them working second jobs.

Democrats and Republicans have traded blame over the shutdown. Democrats want President Donald Trump and Republicans to agree to extend health care subsidies for millions of Americans set to expire in January, to support a temporary spending bill and reopen the government. Republican have insisted the debate about health care can happen only once a funding bill is passed.

A shortage of controllers could result in increased flight delays and cancellations as air traffic is scaled back, Duffy said.

Galen Munroe, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, confirmed his union’s members are already working without pay, and will receive partial paychecks on Oct. 14 covering only through Oct. 2. Under the law, federal workers get back pay when a funding agreement is reached.

The longer the shutdown goes on, the more hardship and stress for air traffic controllers and their families, said Michael McCormick, a former head of the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma who now teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.

"Most controllers are financially secure enough that they can go a pay period without a paycheck. But to go beyond that, it gets to be problematic — especially those who live or work in high cost-of-living areas" like New York City and Long Island, McCormick said.

The national-level leadership of the controllers' union posted a message on its website encouraging members to continue working. But McCormick said long term, without paychecks, more controllers are likely to call in sick, potentially resulting in delayed or canceled flights.

Duffy said the shutdown also could result in the slowing down of hiring and training new controllers, if trainers and support staff are furloughed, and in delayed progress in modernizing air traffic control facilities, some of which utilize decades-old technology.

Also at risk are "the two biggest projects in the Western Hemisphere" — Amtrak’s $16 billion Gateway effort, which aims to build a new rail tunnel across the Hudson River, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $2 billion extension of the Second Avenue Subway.

Duffy said he ordered a review of the projects because of concerns that contracts were being awarded based on "race and sex." But Duffy said those reviews are on hold because the DOT’s civil rights staffers have been furloughed.

"We're not trying to shut down these projects. To the contrary, we're trying to make sure these projects move forward and move forward fast, because they're important," Duffy said.

At a Bronx news conference Monday, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said New York projects "are being singled out" because they’re on the home turf of Democratic congressional leaders.

"To us, there’s no drama," said Lieber, who believes the MTA will be able to comply with the DOT’s rules. "From an MTA standpoint, there need not be any impact on our projects when the dust settles, and hopefully we go back to normal business."