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Air traffic controllers at Syracuse Hancock International Airport are facing unprecedented stress during the federal government shutdown as they enter a second full week without being paid, according to their union. The team is working mandatory overtime shifts – six days per week and 10 hours per day – to keep the Syracuse airport operating with only 54% of its authorized staff of certified air traffic controllers, a union official said. The airport is supposed to have 28 full-time air traffic controllers. Right now, they only have 16 on staff and eight trainees, who are not allowed to work unsupervised. The team handles an average of 188 incoming and outgoing flights per day in Syracuse from passenger airlines, private planes and the New York Air National Guard. Mike Christine, eastern regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the personnel shortage in Syracuse is part of a chronic nationwide problem. He said the stress on the air traffic controllers is compounded because they received a $0 paycheck Tuesday due to the government shutdown, following a partial paycheck on Oct. 14. In addition to making sure planes take off and land safely, now the controllers are worrying about feeding their families, paying the mortgage or rent, and holding off creditors. “Our controllers are tired, they’re scared, and they don’t know when their next paycheck will be,” Christine told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. “It’s nothing new to us as air traffic controllers to have staffing shortages,” Christine said. “What’s new to us is that we’re working short-staffed and wondering when we’re going to be paid next. It takes arguably the most stressful job in the nation, and it just adds to it.” While there have been no organized sickouts at the nation’s airports, the staffing shortages have taken a larger toll over the past few days. Several large airports reported temporary shutdowns and long delays for travelers over the past four days due to air traffic controller shortages in cities that included Boston, Newark, Dallas, Houston and Nashville. On Thursday, all flights due to arrive in Orlando were halted for hours because no certified controllers were expected to show up to work the evening shift, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Christine said some air traffic controllers have taken part-time 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. “Like most of our nation, most air traffic controllers live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “Some of our controllers can make it through if they miss one pay period. But I don’t know of any air traffic controllers, or most Americans, who can make it through without two paychecks or three.” Christine did not know if any of the air traffic controllers and trainees in Syracuse are working a second job. But he said he’s aware of an uptick among controllers nationally who have decided to retire or quit their trainee jobs during the shutdown. “As this continues on, the decisions are going to get harder and harder for our members to make,” Christine said. The federal government shutdown entered its 34th day Monday – just short of the record 35-day shutdown set in the winter of 2018-2019. The last shutdown ended after mass sickouts by unpaid airport screeners and air traffic controllers caused delays at airports, briefly stopped flights to LaGuardia Airport in New York City, and threatened to disrupt travel plans for people headed to the Super Bowl in Atlanta. The travel problems prompted President Donald Trump and Congress to resolve a funding dispute and reopen the government. The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority said in a statement to syracuse.com that the shutdown has not affected daily operations at the airport, which has recorded record growth in recent years. More people flew in and out of the airport last year – more than 3 million travelers – than at any other time in its 75-year history. “The airport continues to operate safely and efficiently, with approximately 80 total arrivals and departures each day,” the statement said. “While the SRAA does not oversee air traffic control operations directly, we recognize the dedication of the controllers and appreciate all that they are doing under challenging circumstances. Through this period, the authority has provided food and small tokens of appreciation to support them during this time.” Christine said the major passenger airlines and airport vendors have provided free lunches for air traffic controllers during the shutdown. “The support has been great, but a free lunch and dinner won’t pay the bills,” he said. Some credit unions have offered interest-free loans to Federal Aviation Administration employees during the shutdown, and the U.S. Department of Transportation is providing employees with letters to creditors asking for leniency. But few air traffic controllers have time in their 60-hour work week to deal with the added headache of dealing with unpaid bills, Christine said. He said most people who work in airport control towers expect to work nights, weekends and miss family birthdays as part of a demanding job with irregular hours. The shutdown, however, may discourage a new generation of air traffic controllers from taking the job, Christine said. “Our controllers are proud,” he said. “We all sign up for it. We thrive on stress. But this type of stress no one needs.”
