Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that flight reductions could go as high as 20 percent if the government shutdown drags on, as the Federal Aviation Administration begins reducing flights by 10 percent due to air traffic controller staffing shortages.
“If this continues, and I have more controllers who decide they can’t come to work, can’t control the airspace, but instead have to take a second job — with that, you might see 10 percent would have been a good number, because we might go to 15 percent or 20 percent,” Duffy said at a Breitbart News event in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
Duffy clarified to The Hill after the event that he was speaking theoretically.
“Could it go there? That’s possible. There’s no plan for that,” Duffy said. “I assess the data and how many controllers I have, and I’m just saying we’re gonna make decisions based on what we see in the airspace to make sure we keep it safe. I hope it goes the other direction.”
Airlines began reducing air traffic at 40 airports across the country on Friday by direction of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), starting with 4 percent reductions on Friday and gradually increasing by 2 percent per day to 10 percent.
Duffy on Friday also responded to concerns that the flight reductions were a political move aimed at pressuring Senate Democrats to pass a Republican-crafted, “clean” stopgap to reopen the federal government, which they have repeatedly rejected as they make demands on health care and other issues.
“I’ve had some complaints from Democrats, ‘We want to see the data … This is political,’” Duffy said during the event with Breitbart. “This has not been political. We have worked overtime to make sure that we minimize the impact on the American people.”
Duffy said that his agency looked at reducing flights to 10 percent right away on Friday, but the safety team said that could be even more disruptive.
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on Wednesday called for the FAA to “immediately share any safety risk assessment and related data that this decision is predicated on with Congress.”
But another Democrat on that panel, Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, on Thursday said that Duffy’s move to reduce flights “is the right call for the safety of the flying public.”
“Those who snipe at me for having to take really unique action, they put that on my plate. So open it up,” Duffy said.
Duffy called on the Senate to stay in session and said he was at Reagan National Airport before the event where travelers have flight issues, saying senators should not fly home.
“There’s people going to funerals. There’s people who are trying to get home. They can’t get home. Why are senators going home? Keep them here, and especially the senators who voted no to open the government up,” Duffy said.
Breitbart’s Matt Boyle joked that Duffy could put senators on the no-fly list to keep them in Washington while the government is shut down. Duffy responded: “That would be a great — well played.”
And Duffy said of negotiations to reopen the government in Congress: “To give something up to open the government up, I think, would be a mistake on the Republicans’ part.”
Asked if it will take time to alleviate air traffic issues after the government is back open after the 10 percent flight reductions, Duffy said: “We’ll look at the data, look at where the controllers are at, and then give the airlines time to bring those flights back in.”
