交通部可能会被迫关闭该国某些地区的领空如果政府关门持续到下周，交通部长肖恩达菲周二说。
他说:“所以，如果你从今天起一个星期后把我们带到民主党，你会看到大规模的混乱。”。“你会看到大量航班延误。你会看到大规模取消，你可能会看到我们关闭某些空域，因为我们无法管理，因为我们没有空中交通管制员。”
据美国联邦航空管理局称，近50%的主要空中交通管制设施面临人员短缺。空中交通管制员被要求在关闭期间无薪工作。
根据美国联邦航空局的数据，目前约有13，000名空中交通管制员在无薪工作。周五，该机构表示，80%的纽约地区工作人员已经呼吁。
“这些辛勤工作的美国人有账单要付，他们被迫做出决定和选择，”达菲周一在费城的一个无关活动中谈到空中交通管制员时说。“他们是去做空中交通管制员的工作，还是不得不找一份不同的工作来获得资源、金钱、餐桌上的食物、汽车里的汽油?随着时间一天天过去，我认为问题只会变得更糟，而不是更好。”
达菲上个月表示，如果空中交通管制员不上班，他们可能会被解雇。
“当你来工作时，你会得到报酬，”达菲10月9日在福克斯商业频道的“瓦尼”节目中说&Co .”“如果你不来上班，就没有工资。...如果我们的员工中有一些不敬业的，我们会让他们走。"
但交通部长在周末软化了立场，告诉哥伦比亚广播公司的“面对国家”,他不会解雇任何不上班的空中交通管制员。
“他们需要支持，他们需要钱，他们需要薪水。他们不需要被解雇，”他说。
达菲在接受采访时对关闭领空发表了类似的评论美国广播公司新闻“本周”的联合主持人玛莎·拉达茨周日说.
达菲说，在短缺的情况下，“我们将推迟，我们将取消任何类型的穿越国家领空的航班，以确保人们的安全”，而与此同时，由于人员配备问题，纽瓦克自由国际机场实际上已经停飞。
“当我们有一个控制器做两项工作而不是一项工作时，就会有一定程度的风险注入系统，”他补充说。
Department of Transportation might be forced to shut down some airspace next week: Duffy
The Department of Transportation might be forced to shut down the airspace in certain parts of the countryif the government shutdowncontinues into next week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday.
"So if, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos," he said. "You will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancelations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have the air traffic controllers."
Nearly 50% of all major air traffic control facilities face staffing shortages, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.Air traffic controllers are required to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown.
About 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently working without pay, according to the FAA. On Friday, the agency said that 80% of New York area staff had called out.
"These hard-working Americans have bills to pay, and they are being forced to make decisions and choices," Duffy said Monday of air traffic controllers at an unrelated event in Philadelphia. "Do they go to work as an air traffic controller, or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, to put food on their table, to put gas in their car? And as every day goes by, I think the problem is only going to get worse, not better."
Duffy said last month that air traffic controllers could be let go if they didn't show up for work.
"When you come to work, you get paid," Duffy said Oct. 9 in remarks on Fox Business’ "Varney&Co." "If you don't come to work, you don't get paid. ... If we have some on our staff that aren't dedicated, we're going to let them go."
But the transportation secretary softened that stance over the weekend, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that he would not fire any air traffic controllers for not showing up to work.
"They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck. They don't need to be fired," he said.
Duffy made similar comments about closing airspace during an interview withABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday.
"We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe" amid the shortages, Duffy said, while at the same time a ground stop was in effect at Newark Liberty International Airport due to staffing issues.
"There is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that's doing two jobs instead of one," he added.
