After the government shutdown that caused thousands of flight cancellations, the president is working to prioritize air travel safety.
In the wake of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, President Trump is pursuing efforts to improve air travel safety.
The shutdown, instigated by Democrats over expiring health care subsidies, led to severe staffing shortages at the Federal Aviation Administration and thousands of cancelled or delayed flights.
The Republican-led effort to reopen the government provides funding until January 30, providing safe conditions for air travel during the busy holiday season. The continuing resolution that passed on Wednesday will give air traffic controllers backpay from hours worked during the shutdown and resume their regular paychecks.
“[Air travel] will be much better than normal because we’re buying the most sophisticated avionics and technology for our control towers – and we didn’t have that. We had a guy named [former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg] … he spent billions of dollars trying to patch together our ATC system,” Trump said to the press.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said air travel safety is a top priority for Trump’s administration.
“My department has many responsibilities, but our No. 1 job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay. It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking,” he said recently.
Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford also issued a statement, saying, “The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”
The FAA reduced flights by 10% at 40 high-traffic airports across the U.S. during the shutdown to keep air travel safe during staffing shortages caused by the lapse in appropriations.
The administration has continued to prioritize air travel safety during the unprecedented shutdown and is monitoring the long-term outlook as airlines return to normal following the lapse.
