A plane takes off from the control tower at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, October 8, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. air traffic controllers have received partial salaries, their union said Tuesday, and they could miss their next paychecks entirely if the government shutdown lasts two more weeks.
“The job is stressful enough as it is. Now you add that factor of, ‘Hey, when am I going to get my next paycheck?'” said air traffic controller Raymond Dahlstrom.
Dahlstrom and some of his colleagues distributed fliers outside New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday to urge the public to ask lawmakers to end the shutdown. Air traffic controllers were also scheduled to distribute informational brochures at other airports in Washington, D.C., and Chicago on Tuesday.
The government was shut down on October 1 after the Senate failed to pass a bill to fund the government. Air traffic controllers and airport security screeners are among thousands of government employees who are forced to work even though they have not been paid during the standoff.
Last week, a shortage of air traffic controllers led to delays at airports including Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California, even though most facilities were adequately staffed.
“We’re always there, no one calls in sick…other than they’re sick,” Dahlstrom said. He said some controllers take second jobs, such as driving for ride-sharing companies, to help them make ends meet while they’re not getting paid.
A more than month-long shutdown that began in late 2018 ended hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers hampered air travel in the New York area.
Even outside of the shutdown, the United States faces a shortage of qualified air traffic controllers, which periodically disrupts flights. Airline executives have been calling for more training initiatives and more modern technology for years.
But the government shutdown has also put more emphasis on U.S. aviation.
Some airports, including Las Vegas, New York’s three major airports and others, are refusing to release a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the shutdown, airport officials told CNBC on Tuesday.