Air traffic controllers warn of shutdown impact

CHARLOTTE — The government shutdown has entered its 28th day, and for air traffic controllers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, it will mark their first day missing a full paycheck.

Controllers say it’s an intense job, and the shutdown is pushing them to their limit. They’re guiding thousands of flights safely each day, but now they’re doing it without pay —adding strain on an industry the workers’ labor union says is already reporting shortages.

In Charlotte and across the country, air traffic controllers plan to raise awareness by handing out flyers at the airport. Their goal is to warn travelers of the added stress and staffing shortages caused by the shutdown.

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Some are working six days a week and ten-hour shifts without pay, and TSA agents, also considered essential workers, are facing the same challenges.

“There’s going to be a lot less people coming in as people are going to be running out of money,” Oksana Kelly, a TSA worker in Orlando, said. “If I have nowhere to leave my kids, how am I going to come to work?”

Thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled since the government shutdown began, and more than half of them were caused by staffing shortages.

Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, more than 250 FAA facilities have reported staffing problems — that’s more than four times the number from this time last year.

The longer the shutdown lasts, the more financial pressure it puts on workers responsible for keeping planes safe in the sky.

“That leads to an unnecessary distraction, and they cannot be 100% focused on their jobs which makes this system less safe every day that this shutdown continues,” President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Nick Daniels said.

Travelers are being warned to expect longer security lines and monitor flights for any changes, especially as the busy holiday travel season quickly approaches.

VIDEO: Charlotte Douglas does not anticipate any impacts to operations amid government shutdown