The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has urged its members to avoid any activity that could harm the capacity of the National Airspace System as the federal government shutdown continues. The call follows reports of temporary tower closures and flight delays at several U.S. airports over the past several days, many of which have been linked to staffing shortages from an increased volume of sick callouts since the shutdown began.
Although air traffic controllers are exempt from furlough, they are required to work without pay during the shutdown. In 2019, similar “sickouts” were partially credited to ending a 35-day government shutdown, according to multiple media outlets.
During a press conference with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week, NATCA President Nick Daniels emphasized the need for a resolution.
“We need to bring this shutdown to a close so that the FAA and the committed aviation safety professionals can put this distraction aside and focus completely on their vital work,” Daniels said.
He added that priorities such as accelerating air traffic controller hiring and modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system “require our immediate and full attention.”
In a statement currently posted on its website homepage, NATCA said it “does not endorse, support, or condone any federal employees participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS.”
The union warned that job actions of that kind are illegal and “undermine NATCA’s credibility and severely weaken our ability to effectively advocate” for members.
The organization further reminded controllers that “in the current political climate, federal employees are under heightened scrutiny,” urging them to maintain the professionalism that ensures the safety and integrity of the nation’s airspace.
One factor that I noted for all high-stress work… first responders, ATC, GIs, etc… is to have mental health support and counseling, available on-site.
Traditionally, working chaplains/assistants… working in the trenches with the troops… have helped fellow GIs/fire/rescue/law/etc personnel maintain a semblance of sanity together in the worst of times. Telling people to ‘suck-it-up’ is no help and is often abusively-destructive.
Being able to safely ‘dump’ to a Chaplain… and receive support [family/financial/etc] from Chaplains… is a highly underrated essential service to people in life and death work.
I have seen strong men and women ‘break-down’ from all the work stress in the arms of a priest/chaplain… and slowly recover themselves… and get back to the tough work with renewed calm… mostly. The ones that cant be recovered, have to be removed and given time to recover… if ever… from the job PTSD.
Even ancient Roman physicians understood that the strongest men’s minds and bodies eventually ‘break-down’… and had to be ‘fixed’… after unrelenting hard work, disasters, warfare, etc.
I flew the Cobra Gunship in Vietnam for a year and the only thing that worked was a good crew chief to keep it running reliably, a good armourer to feed the 7.62 minigun and load the 2.75 air to ground rockets and a thorough knowledge of the operational requirements of each mission. The religious hoky poky added nothing to my survival. One Cobra pilot on our team was recovered from the jungle with a bullet hole through the bible he carried in the left pocket of his flight suit.