Air traffic controllers get partial pay
An airplane takes off from the control tower at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on October 8, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. air traffic controllers are receiving partial paychecks and could miss their next paycheck entirely if the government shutdown lasts another two weeks, their union said Tuesday.
“The job is stressful enough as it is. Now it’s ‘Hey, when am I going to get my next paycheck?'” said air traffic controller Raymond Dahlstrom. “You add the factor,” he said.
Dahlstrom and some of his colleagues handed out fliers outside New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday urging the public to ask lawmakers to end the shutdown. Air traffic controllers were also scheduled to hand out informational flyers at other airports in Washington, D.C. and Chicago on Tuesday.
The government shut down on October 1 after the Senate failed to pass a bill to fund the government. Air traffic controllers and airport security guards are among thousands of government employees who must work despite not being paid during this stalemate.
Last week, a shortage of air traffic controllers caused delays at airports including Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California, but most facilities were adequately staffed.
“We still come, no one calls out sick except they are sick,” Dahlstrom said. He said some controllers take second jobs, such as working as drivers for ride-hailing companies, to help make ends meet while getting paid.
The shutdown, which began in late 2018 and lasted more than a month, ended just hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers disrupted air travel in the New York area.
Even outside of the shutdown, the U.S. has been struggling with a shortage of trained air traffic controllers, which has periodically disrupted flights. Airline executives have been pushing for more training initiatives and more modern technology for years.
But the government shutdown has also brought greater focus to U.S. aviation.
Some airports, including Las Vegas, New York City’s three major airports and others have refused to release a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the shutdown, airport officials told CNBC on Tuesday.
