Exhausted, unpaid air traffic controllers warn of…
This scenario can’t fly.
The security of every American aircraft passenger is being imperiled as the federal government shutdown drags into its second week, irate air traffic controllers say.
More than 14,000 controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration received’t be paid until the shutdown ends — and the stress is impacting their potential to avert aviation catastrophes.
Two controllers who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity described a scenario that is turning into more harmful by the day, telling vacationers to take heed.
More than 14,000 controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration received’t be paid until the shutdown ends — and the stress is impacting their potential to avert aviation catastrophes. REUTERS
“The financial anxiety doesn’t just hurt morale; it directly affects safety,” one controller in South Carolina declared. “When someone responsible for thousands of lives a day is worrying about whether they can pay rent or feed their kids, focus suffers. Sometimes that small moment where your mind is elsewhere can have serious impacts.”
Air traffic control has been in the highlight this 12 months, following the January aircraft and helicopter collision that killed 67 people in Washington, DC, as properly as the hundreds of radar and communications outages that have spooked officers, lawmakers and passengers.
“Controllers were already underwater with pay and staffing before the shutdown,” the South Carolina controller explained. “Now we’re drowning.”
A second controller, working in California, warned: “The shutdown is affecting every single person traveling in the United States at this time. More stress equals more risk; that’s just basic common sense.”
Since the shutdown went into impact Oct. 1, aircraft passengers have confronted prolonged delays at airports as unpaid staff call out sick. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said some air traffic control towers have seen a surprising 50% discount in staffing.
On Monday, Hollywood Burbank Airport, outdoors Los Angeles, was without an air traffic controller in its tower for more than 5 hours due to staffing points. Meanwhile, journey chaos erupted at Nashville airport Tuesday after a scarcity of air traffic controllers brought about virtually 300 planes to be delayed.
Overtime exhaustion
Travelers are going through delays — and severe security dangers — as the shutdown stretches on. Getty Images
Those who are displaying up for work are clocking obscene quantities of extra time — that means they’re exhausted while performing a job that requires fixed focus and the flexibility to make fast choices with life-or-death penalties.
“I’ve logged 185 hours of overtime [this year],” the California controller confessed. “Last 12 months, I exceeded 400 hours, but the toll on my mental and bodily health led me to scale back this 12 months.
“What passengers often forget is that the person guiding their plane through the sky is human: underpaid, overworked, fatigued and carrying immense responsibility,” he added. “Beyond the control room, the exhaustion continues — recovering from 60-hour workweeks leaves little time for exercise, chores or family.”
Making issues worse: those who rely on extra time worry they’ll never be compensated for it once the shutdown ends.
“During the 2018–2019 government shutdown, controllers had to sue for overtime pay we never received,” the controller said, claiming, “Only now, six years later, are some of those settlement checks finally arriving.”
Living paycheck to paycheck
Air traffic controllers often work large quantities of extra time to make ends meet. Now, they worry they’ll have to combat for it after the shutdown ends. AP
Aside from the extra time uncertainty, Duffy said the pay delays prompted by the shutdown have some air traffic controllers questioning whether or not to decide up a second job to make ends meet.
“Now, what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace is, ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage? Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a job that’s already stressful?’ ” Duffy said Monday.
But according to the controllers who spoke with The Post, many in the industry have been working second jobs for a long time.
“The shutdown didn’t create the problem; it magnified one that’s been growing for years,” the South Carolina controller asserted. “Most controllers outside the largest facilities are living paycheck to paycheck. Many have taken second jobs or side hustles that distract them at work just to cover rising costs.”
The father of three — who has labored with the FAA for more than a decade — admitted that he had also taken on further work to supplement his income and present for his household.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for an air traffic controller is $144,580 per 12 months. The South Carolina controller makes less than that and said those “at smaller facilities make under $95,000, which is barely middle class in most cities today.”
Many air traffic controllers are working second jobs. It’s main to burnout and exhaustion in a function that requires fixed focus. Getty Images
With the shutdown displaying no indicators of ending, the scenario is trying dire. FAA staff are scheduled to obtain a partial paycheck Oct. 14 and a “zero” paycheck — or none — Oct. 28.
While the scenario might immediate the public to rethink air journey until the federal government reopens, the controllers insist they’re doing the whole lot they will to keep fliers out of hurt’s method.
“The only reason the system still functions is because the people on the mike refuse to fail,” the South Carolina controller said. “But that commitment comes at a personal cost to our mental and physical health that keeps getting higher.”
“We meet the standard every day, but that’s not the bar we should be shooting for,” the California controller concurred. “No one should have to live this way.”
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