Many flyers are nervous about taking a flight during the government shutdown. But should they be?
The government shutdown has impacted many areas of American life. One way that the shutdown has shaken things up is by making air travel a lot more time-consuming.
In short, staff shortages and the number of people working without pay mean that airports are having trouble keeping all the employees they need for normal operation. This means that some flyers are facing waits of three hours or more just to get through security. Others are simply getting to the airport incredibly early to avoid any potential issues.
Seeing these staff issues, some may wonder if the actual safety of flying is compromised due to a lack of staff. Now, an air traffic controller on TikTok has the answer.
Is It Unsafe To Fly During The Shutdown?
In a video with over 30,000 views, TikTok user PropHatCat answers viewer concerns about whether it’s unsafe to fly during this shutdown.
His response? It’s safe. Though there are some other things you might need to worry about.
“Does the risk of plane crashes increase during a government shutdown?” he asks. “The short answer and the answer that I think everybody wants to hear is ‘no.’”
The reason, he says, is that even though air traffic controllers aren’t getting paid, many are still showing up.
Additionally, even if an inadequate number of controllers shows up for the day, the system will expand or contract to meet the number of controllers they have. The TikToker notes that an air traffic controller will only be tracking a certain number of planes. And if there aren’t enough controllers, the number of flights will be adjusted to meet the number of air traffic controllers.
Are There Other Problems With Flying During The Shutdown?
Of course, the limited number of air traffic controllers will have an impact on flights—just not their safety.
In cases where there’s just a single air traffic controller, for example, “Flying is still safe. It’s just not going to be as efficient as it could be if there were two controllers,” the TikToker states.
Many flyers have already seen the country’s air traffic control system adjust as a result of these limits.
For example, the FAA recently announced a 10% reduction in flights. The agency says this move was made to relieve pressure on overworked air traffic controllers.
While this means that there will be fewer flights in the air, it also means that the flights that do take off and land in the country will be safely under the guidance of air traffic control.
Still, this reduction, paired with staff shortages in the TSA and other airport services, could mean that actually getting to your destination will take longer than expected—whether that’s because you had to wait for a flight or got stuck in the security line.
@prophatcat Replying to @oh_yesdaddyplease does the risk of plane crashes increase during a government shutdown? #airtrafficcontrol #pilotsoftiktok #avgeek #governmentshutdown
Commenters Aren’t Happy
In the comments section, users were content with the reassurance that flying is still safe. That said, they’re not thrilled about the idea of traveling during a government shutdown.
“Not getting paid would stress anyone out. The job is already stressful. Not a good combo,” wrote a user.
“We are paid to maintain a ‘safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of traffic’. Safety is first. Efficiency is last in the general order, so you might experience a variety of delays from ground stops to en route holding,” noted another.
“I think being forced to work without pay would definitely affect their quality of work so the real answer is yes,” offered a third.
BroBible reached out to PropHatCat via email.