Duffy warns of major slowdowns as O’Hare cancellations pile up

Sec. Duffy warns of slowdowns as Chicago airport cancellations pile up

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited O’Hare Airport on Tuesday to address ongoing air travel concerns, while thousands of customers across the country continue to face flight delays and cancellations.

CHICAGO - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited O’Hare Airport on Tuesday to address ongoing air travel concerns, while thousands of customers across the country continue to face flight delays and cancellations.

Airlines are now pushing lawmakers to act quickly to end the longest government shutdown in history. 

What we know:

Sec. Duffy said air travel will "radically slow down" this coming weekend if the shutdown isn't resolved, but added that he is hopeful we will soon have good news from Washington, D.C.

"I encourage every single Republican and Democrat to vote to open the government," Duffy said. 

On Saturday, Nov. 8, the FAA had more staffing triggers than ever before.

"This past weekend saw us put in airspace flow programs where we had to slow the entire country down, which forced massive cancellations and delays," said Frank McIntosh, acting COO, Air Traffic Organization, FAA. "This is not sustainable for the air traffic controllers, for our technicians, or for the American public."

Last week, the government shutdown sent airlines into a tailspin after the FAA directed them to cancel a percentage of their flights at the nation's busiest airports, including O'Hare. On Tuesday, airlines were ordered to reduce flights by 6% — up from 4% last Friday. As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 130 flights had been canceled at O'Hare. 

Officials say the system is overwhelmed and air traffic controllers, in particular, who aren't getting paid during the shutdown are overworked.

Duffy said air traffic controllers will be the first government workers to be made whole again when the government reopens, receiving 70% of their backpay within 24 to 48 hours. The other 30% will hit their accounts within a week.

Dig deeper:

While there were fewer call-offs on Tuesday compared to the weekend, officials are working to tackle a long-term issue. 

Duffy, on Tuesday, visited O'Hare's control tower. Like many other airports across the nation, O'Hare needs more air traffic controllers — a problem that won't be solved overnight. 

Before the shutdown, Duffy said between four to five air traffic controllers were retiring each day; now, that number is much higher.

"We now have 15-20 air traffic controllers retiring a day, so that's a problem. Long after you all finish covering the shutdown, we are going to be stuck dealing with this problem, where we are about 2,000 controllers short, trying to make up that difference," Duffy said. 

In response, Duffy said he is working to recruit the next generation of air traffic controllers. 

"I'm super-charging our air traffic control school, our academy, getting more young people to come in. From the time they apply to the time they come in, I've truncated that, I'm paying them a bonus to come to the academy," Duffy shared. 

What they're saying:

When asked about President Trump's recommendation that controllers who showed up to work throughout the shutdown should receive a $10,000 bonus, Duffy had this to say:

"The air traffic controller who didn't miss a day, they came for every scheduled shift that they had, they should get a bonus," Duffy said. "Now I don't know how many there are going to be, we have to do that analysis, but I'm aligned with the president. We are going to pay them a bonus, and it'll be $10,000. Depending on how many we have, they should come to the White House, and he should present them with their checks. They are patriots. We are grateful to them for the work that they've done."

What's next:

Flight reductions are still set to increase to 8% on Thursday before peaking at 10% on Friday; however, Duffy said those plans could change depending on data.