US Likely to Close Parts of Airspace as Government Shutdown Continues, Warns Transportation Secretary

The United States may potentially see parts of its airspace closed as the government shutdown continues, according to the Transportation Secretary. The partial closures come as airports may see staffing shortages.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that the Trump administration may implement closures of parts of the country's airspace because of staffing shortages. The closures could lead to 'mass chaos' as the shutdown of the federal government continues.

'If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays,' Duffy told reporters at a press conference. 'You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have air traffic controllers.'

With Duffy were two Pennsylvania Senators, Dave McCormick and John Fetterman. Fetterman is one of three Democratic Senators who consistently voted to open the government.

Government Standoff Continues

Over 40 Senate Democrats have voted 14 times against a measure that could help fund the government at its current levels until 21 November. This is in the hopes of getting concessions from Republicans to agree to extend health care subsidies that are set to lapse by the end of the year. The Republicans currently control both the Senate and the House with their majorities in both chambers.

Last week, Duffy hosted a press conference with Vice President JD Vance, talking about the potential problems travelers might face in the coming Thanksgiving holiday on 27 November.

'The House of Representatives has voted affirmatively to reopen the United States government,' said Vance at the time. '52 Republicans and three Democrats consistently vote to reopen the United States government. But we need 60 votes.'

Under Democratic President Joe Biden, the Affordable Care Act tax credits and other provisions that could lower healthcare premiums were expanded. However, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune are focused on getting Democrats to break ranks and vote to reopen the government.

There is also a growing pressure on lawmakers from unions and people from the airline industry to reopen the government. This is especially at a time when federal benefits programs like SNAP have run out of funding.

Increasing Flight Delays in the US

On Monday, the Trump administration officials delayed a round of flights as airlines said 3.2 million passengers faced either delayed or cancelled flights because of the lack of air traffic controllers. The US Federal Aviation Authority said there were ground delays in Dallas and Austin because of air traffic controller absences due to no pay.

Monday alone saw 2,900 flights delayed, and more similar warnings could be made for airports in Houston and Washington, according to the FAA.

Around 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees are forced to work without pay due to the ongoing government shutdown. Duffy previously warned that the Trump administration may enforce restrictions on the country's aviation system if it decided it was now too risky to travel.

'If we thought that it was unsafe...we'll shut the whole airspace down. We won't let people travel. We're not there at this point. It's just significant delays,' Duffy told CNBC.