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Syracuse’s airport will hold a food drive this week to support air traffic controllers and TSA agents who have worked without pay since the federal government shutdown began Oct. 1. The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority said it decided to collect food in response to requests from Central New Yorkers who wanted to know how they could help nearly 200 federal employees at the airport. The unpaid workers include 24 air traffic controllers at Syracuse Hancock International Airport who have been working mandatory overtime shifts, six days per week and 10 hours per day, syracuse.com | The Post-Standard reported Monday. The shutdown has placed unprecedented stress on the understaffed controllers, who are working at 54 percent of their authorized capacity, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Airport officials said they will accept food donations for the air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 5 through Nov. 7. Volunteers will accept non-perishable food for the employees at the “Arrivals A” curb line at the airport. Drivers entering the airport along Col. Eileen Collins Boulevard are asked to follow the large blue signs for “Arrivals A” by turning right at the traffic light at Constellation Way and then left onto Air Cargo Road. Jason Terreri, the airport’s executive director, said in a statement that travelers appreciate the federal employees who have remained on the job during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The shutdown entered its 35th day Tuesday amid a standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Congress about the discontinuation of federal health care subsidies. Air traffic controllers and TSA agents are considered essential employees and are required to remain on the job without pay during a shutdown. “Our airport community – including members of the traveling public – recognize that without our federal partners, the airport will not be able to operate,” Terreri said. “We are happy to provide a conduit through which further assistance can flow.” Mike Christine, eastern regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told syracuse.com that some controllers have taken second jobs working for companies like Uber Eats or Instacart so that they have enough cash to pay their bills. The starting pay for an air traffic controller is about $46,000 per year. While there have been no organized sickouts among TSA agents or air traffic controllers at the nation’s airports, the staffing shortages have started to take a toll. Several large airports reported temporary shutdowns and long delays for travelers over the weekend due to air traffic controller shortages in cities that included Boston, Newark, Dallas, Houston, Nashville and Orlando.
