Sec. Duffy Warns That More Traffic Controllers Are Not Coming To Work as ‘Democrats Refuse To Pay Them’

A growing number of flights are being cancelled and delayed as more air traffic controllers are refusing to come to work “because Democrats refuse to pay them,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday.” Air traffic could slow to a “trickle” by Thanksgiving if there’s no shutdown resolution.

“Yesterday, we had 81 staffing triggers with air traffic controllers across the airspace. You reported there was a whole slew of cancellations and delays across the airspace,” Duffy said. “That trend line is getting worse, right?”

More than 7,400 flights were delayed in the U.S. on Nov. 8, with nearly 2,000 cancellations reported on FlightAware. As of 1 p.m. on Nov. 9, nearly 5,000 flights have been delayed, with approximately 1,700 flights cancelled.

“And so—as I look two weeks out, as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel—I think what’s going to happen is you’re going to have air travel slow to a trickle,” Duffy continued.

“As everyone wants to travel to see their families, I think we’re going to see air traffic controllers—very few of them—coming to work, which means, yes, you’ll have a few flights taking off and landing at our different airports across the country, but the thousands of flights that happen every day to move people around the country for this great American holiday—it’s not going to happen.”

“You’re going to have massive disruption. I think a lot of angry Americans, and I think we have to be honest about where this is going. It doesn’t get better; it gets worse until these air traffic controllers are paid.”

The nation is currently facing day 40 of the government shutdown, officially making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history, with Democrats rejecting the Republican funding bill to reopen the government 14 times.

“It is frustrating to hear liberals—it’s not just Slate [magazine]—it was Chuck Schumer who was throwing shade our way. We have done all we can to make sure we minimize disruption, that we keep the airspace safe. And again, I didn’t create the problem. It’s Senate Democrats who did,” Duffy explained in the interview.

Duffy highlighted how the Trump administration and Republicans in the Senate have been working to find a solution to reopen the government and “to minimize the pain on the American people and make it better for travelers.”

“In the end, I’m not gonna have many tools left in my toolbox,” Duffy concluded. “It’s only going to get worse. And again, we try to minimize the risk, but when we do that, flights are delayed and canceled.”