The ongoing government shutdown is stalling the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plans to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system and leaving employees without pay or training, according to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO.
In response to a union survey, more than 700 employees who work at the FAA and the Pentagon detailed stories of financial difficulties during the shutdown. These include visiting local food banks, canceling medical treatments, and looking for part-time work.
“If the government is not opened as soon as possible, employees will be faced with no pay on October 28,” PASS National President Dave Spero said in an Oct. 21 press release. “In addition, training has been stopped for these employees who will be critical to the efforts to modernize the National Airspace System.”
Aspiring air traffic control specialists are required to complete training courses at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. However, PASS-represented employees in training at the academy were sent home on Oct. 3, with no funding available to keep them in class.
“It can take three to five years to fully train a technician,” Spero said. “Any lapse in training can push the clock back, as it did during the academy’s closure during the pandemic.”
PASS – which represents roughly 11,000 federal employees – also stressed that frontline employees play an essential role in the FAA’s efforts to modernize the country’s air traffic control system.
In May, President Donald Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled their plan to build a brand-new U.S. air traffic control system. The proposal aims to build the new system in three years, replacing the FAA’s current antiquated system.
“These employees have the knowledge and expertise to upgrade the system and transition to it in a safe and efficient manner,” Spero said. “Every day, though, we’re taking one step forward but two steps back.”
“For every day the government is shut down and employees in the aviation ecosystem are still furloughed, another layer of safety may be peeled away,” he added. “The furloughed employees want to be back on the job, all of the employees need to be paid and they want to start actively contributing to the modernization of the air traffic control system. We call on Congress to open the government as soon as possible.”