Only 776 of the more than 10,000 air traffic controllers who had to work without pay during the record shutdown will receive the $10,000 bonuses that President Donald Trump suggested because they are the only ones that had perfect attendance, officials announced Thursday.
A number of controllers started calling out of work as the shutdown dragged on longer than a month as they dealt with the financial pressure of working without a paycheck. Some of them
got side jobs, but others simply couldn't afford the child care or gas they needed to work. Their absences forced delays at airports across the country and led the government to cut some of their flights at 40 busy airports.
Trump suggested the bonuses for those who have stayed on the job in a social media post, but he also suggested that controllers who missed work should have their pay docked. Federal Aviation Administration officials haven't publicly announced plans to penalize controllers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the bonuses acknowledged the dedication of controllers who never missed a shift during the 43-day shutdown.
“These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown,” Duffy said.
But Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen questioned why all the controllers and others who worked to keep flights moving during during the shutdown won't get bonuses.
“For the Trump administration to not give a bonus to every single one of these hardworking women and men is wrong; they all deserve a bonus and back pay,” said Larsen, who is the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee.
Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that any TSA officers who went “above and beyond” while working without pay would get $10,000 bonuses, but she never specified how many will qualify beyond the handful of checks she handed out to officers at a news conference.
The FAA was already critically short on air traffic controllers before the shutdown. Duffy had been working to boost controller hiring and streamline the years of training required in the hope of eliminating the shortage over the next several years.
Duffy has said that some students and controllers quit and more experienced controllers retired during the shutdown. Many controllers already work 10-hour shifts six days a week because the FAA is so short on staffing.
As more controllers missed work, the FAA ordered airlines to cut flights to relieve pressure on the system. Duffy said repeatedly that FAA safety experts became worried as the absences grew because of reports from pilots concerned about controllers’ responses and a number of runway incursions.
Since the shutdown ended, controller staffing has improved significantly and airlines were allowed to resume normal operations this week.
