NEW: Air Travel May Be Forced To Halt In Certain States As Democrat-Led Shutdown Drags On

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that the Department of Transportation may need to close portions of U.S. airspace next week if the ongoing government shutdown persists.

The secretary noted that such an emergency measure would address severe staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, who are required to work without pay during the funding lapse.

The Federal Aviation Administration reports that nearly 50 percent of its major air traffic control facilities are understaffed. Approximately 13,000 controllers continue on duty unpaid. On Friday, 80 percent of staff in the New York area called out, prompting a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport.

“So if, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays,” Duffy said. “You’ll see mass cancelations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the union representing over 10,800 certified air traffic controllers, has repeatedly demanded that Congress immediately pass a clean continuing resolution (CR) to end the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which is now set to become the longest in U.S. history. The House passed a clean CR a month ago, though Democrats have voted against it more than a dozen times in hopes of gaining legislative wishlist items.

NATCA President Nick Daniels has stressed that controllers are unfairly bearing the burden of the shutdown, as thousands of employees are currently working grueling six-day, 10-hour schedules all amid a preexisting 3,800-person staffing shortfall.

The shutdown has also furloughed 2,350 support staff (engineers and technicians), halted new controller hiring and training, and suspended equipment maintenance and modernization projects, leaving the system vulnerable to more safety lapses.

“These hard-working Americans have bills to pay, and they are being forced to make decisions and choices. Do they go to work as an air traffic controller, or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, to put food on their table, to put gas in their car?” Duffy said while speaking in Philadelphia on Monday.

“And as every day goes by, I think the problem is only going to get worse, not better.”

On Sunday, Duffy explained that the FAA will impose delays or cancellations whenever necessary. “We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe,” he stated.

Air traffic controllers have become a central focus of the ongoing shutdown dispute, which has led to delays and cancellations across more than 20 U.S. airports.

Over the October 31 through November 2 weekend — the worst since the shutdown began — the FAA recorded 98 “staffing triggers,” forcing ground stops, reduced arrival rates, and rerouting. Half of the 30 busiest U.S. facilities reported shortages, with New York-area absences reaching 80 percent.

NATCA and aviation experts have also issued stark safety warnings, stating the shutdown “erodes essential layers of safety” and makes the National Airspace System “less safe with each passing day.”