The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) condemns the federal government shutdown, NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said.
“This shutdown, whether it lasts one hour, one day, one week, or more, reinforces our strong belief that the status quo is broken,” Rinaldi said. “When these aviation safety professionals are prohibited from working as a result of political dysfunction, the flying public and the National Airspace System suffer. Air traffic control is very much a team effort, and the worst part of a shutdown, beyond furloughs and an uncertain date of their next paycheck, is the fact that many key members of the team are sent home. That hurts the operation.”
The shutdown for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began Dec. 23 as operations budget funds allowed for the continuation of excepted and nonexcepted activities.
During the shutdown, air traffic controllers and traffic management coordinators must work without pay, and aviation safety professionals, including aircraft certification engineers, have been furloughed.
Other activities affected by the shutdown, according to NATCA, include the FAA’s Aircraft Certification division, major airport and air traffic control construction projects, building modernization projects, the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, the Data Communications program, and NextGen air traffic control modernization programs.