Major effect government shutdown could have on US flights as it might happen this week
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch
With a possible government shutdown looming, members of a key industry have warned that this could cause some major disruptions.
This possible shutdown has stemmed from the fact that Republican and Democratic politicians have been unable to agree on a solid plan to fund the federal government after September 30.
While Republicans control the chambers of Congress, they still need votes from the Democrats to pass a spending bill to fund the government at current levels through to November 21, and in this case, they require 60 votes.
However, in exchange for their votes, the Senate Democrats have stated that they'll allow the bill to pass if it includes a series of concessions on healthcare, including a reversal of Medicaid cuts and an extension of government subsidies to support the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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Otherwise, they are at a stalemate.
As the budget deadline is set to expire today (September 30), federal employees risk losing their jobs or having to work without pay.
Most concerningly, one industry that would be significantly impacted by a government shutdown is the aviation industry.
US airlines warned on September 29 that a shutdown could strain American aviation and cause delays in flights, Reuters reports.
This is because air traffic controllers and security officers could be forced to work without pay.
The Airline Trade Group, Airlines for America, represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and others, and has warned about the potential impact on them.
While they did not predict a complete standstill if a partial government shutdown were to occur, they did say that if funding lapses ‘the system may need to slow down, reducing efficiency’ and impacting travelers.
The group added: “When federal employees who manage air traffic, inspect aircraft and secure our nation’s aviation system are furloughed or working without pay, the entire industry and millions of Americans feel the strain.”
There are approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees and air traffic controller employees who would be among the government workers required to work without pay.
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that a shutdown could also affect air traffic training and the modernatization effort.
Speaking to reporters last week on Friday (September 26) about a potential government shutdown, President Donald Trump said: “If it has to shut down, it'll have to shut down.”
However, he argued that the Democrats are the ones 'that are shutting down the government'.
He also cancelled his meeting with Democratic Party leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and took to social media to say: "I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive."
Schumer said on Tuesday that Republicans have 'until midnight tonight to get serious with us about solving this crisis and keep the government open'.
He'd also previously spoken about Trump's 'scare' tactics of firing federal workers, which he has done through his and Elon Musk's joint venture, DOGE, as he said: "This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government."