'A little less safe': Air traffic controller warns his colleagues are at 'breaking point'
Air traffic controllers talk with pilots inside the control tower at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Bob Riha, Jr
As air-traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck on Tuesday, with the government shutdown entering its 28th day, Dan McCabe, Southern Regional Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, sounded the alarm over the potential impact on air-safety operations.
During an appearance on CNN Tuesday afternoon, McCabe detailed the way the shutdown has affected air traffic controllers, who are now working without pay.
"When you ask an air-traffic controller to come to work, do the job at the level that is required every single day, and you do that under the shadow of financial stress or stress about your kids or your family; you're essentially injecting risk into a system that was built at its foundation on being risk-averse," McCabe told host Brianna Keilar.
He continued: "And when you do that, it's a little less safe tomorrow than it is today, and a little less the next day and the next day, and the next day – because fear, anxiety, fatigue those are human factors. And as professional as they are, and as dedicated to the craft as they are, they're humans."
The union leader detailed how air traffic controllers are coping. "There are people that are asking about how to take extended time away to go do something, wait tables, drive, uber, anything they can do to make ends meet."
He added: "Because we're at a point now, today it's a zero paycheck. And let's not forget that here in a couple of weeks, mortgages are due, car payments are due, insurance things are due. And this is where we're at."
McCabe warned that the situation could turn more serious.
"We don't know what everyone's breaking point looks like. And let's face it, we don't want to know what everyone's breaking point looks like. But every day that this thing continues to move forward, we're getting closer and closer and closer to everyone's individual point, in which they throw up and throw in the towel," he added.
Watch the segment below:
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