Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Thursday that air traffic controllers who repeatedly skip work during the current federal government shutdown could be terminated. His comments come amid escalating flight delays tied to widespread staff absences at key U.S. airports.
“If we have a continual small subset of controllers that don’t show up to work… they’re the problem children,” Duffy said, as quoted by CNN.
He added: “We need more controllers, but we need the best and the brightest, the dedicated controllers, and if we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’re going to let them go.”
Duffy’s remarks singled out a minority of controllers whose nonattendance, he argued, is triggering cascading disruptions across the national airspace.
“I think what’s happening here, 90 percent of the controllers, they show up, they come to work, but 10 percent of them are lashing out,” the secretary said.
He affirmed that absences are behind the bulk of recent delays at airports such as Hollywood Burbank (California), Denver International, and Newark Liberty (New Jersey), occurring during the ongoing shutdown.
At one point on Monday evening, the Burbank control tower reportedly had no controllers on duty for nearly six hours.
In a post on the social platform X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said: “Thanks @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. today because of YOUR government shutdown.”
Air travelers at affected airports continue facing longer waits and uncertainty until normal operations can resume.