US Vice President Vance warned on Thursday that if the federal government continues to remain shut down, the holiday travel rush at the end of the year could turn into a “disaster.”
After holding a closed-door roundtable meeting with aviation industry leaders, Vance issued the warning during a White House press briefing, stating, “This could be a disaster, it really could. By that time, people may have missed paychecks three or four times, how many of them won’t be able to show up for work?”
Vance expressed concerns that a government shutdown would impact the aviation travel industry, predicting that wait times for security checks at airports could stretch up to 4 hours. Additionally, employees who have been working without pay since the shutdown began may quit to seek other jobs that can cover their living expenses.
The affected employees include air traffic controllers, transportation security officers, technicians, and pilots.
Vance emphasized that they worry the delays could escalate to make air travel for Americans extremely, extremely difficult.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also cautioned at the press conference that if the government fails to reopen, the aviation industry would face “significant problems”, stating, “Our flight traffic would be in disarray, the aviation industry would be facing a disaster.”
Duffy pointed out that October is typically a slow season for air travel, and the delays currently experienced by American travelers are “relatively limited” compared to what may occur in November and December, which would see a significant increase in travel demand as people begin planning for Thanksgiving holiday visits.
“Children coming back from college for Thanksgiving holiday, if air traffic controllers are not paid, even if they want to keep working, they can’t. They have to find another job, then, the entire aviation system will have big problems, and people won’t be able to freely travel around,” Duffy said.
Since the US federal government shut down on October 1, over 13,000 air traffic controllers and thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel have been forced to work without pay. This week was the first time they did not receive their full pay as scheduled.
Duffy mentioned that if they miss paychecks twice consecutively, these employees would struggle to make ends meet.
“The problem is not only mortgages and car payments, though these are real burdens. They also need to buy food, have money for gas to drive 30 to 45 minutes to control towers or terminals. Their children play football, volleyball, or tennis, and they need wages to cover these expenses, but they can’t afford the basic necessities of daily life,” he said.
He indicated that every day the government shutdown continues, “more challenges” arise.
During the roundtable meeting, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby urged lawmakers from both parties in Congress to negotiate and pass a temporary funding resolution without any additional political conditions to ensure that the government’s current expenses and priorities are not affected.
Senate Democrats have blocked Republican-sponsored temporary funding bills aimed at providing government funding 13 times. Democrats argue that any plan to reopen the government should include an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
The White House and Republicans have rejected this demand, insisting that healthcare reform negotiations should be separate from the temporary funding bill.
Vance, Duffy, and Kirby all urged Congress to end the government shutdown immediately.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration website, minutes before the roundtable meeting, Washington Reagan National Airport experienced 90-minute delays due to understaffing.
On Thursday, there were delays at airports in Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey, not related to staffing shortages; while New York’s JFK Airport and surrounding airports experienced delays of over four hours due to severe weather conditions.