WASHINGTON (7News) — When it comes to a government shutdown, there are plenty in the greater D.C. area who’d be dramatically affected. But there’s another group that will also feel the pressure: the airline and travel industry.
Chris Sununu, former Governor of New Hampshire and now a leading voice in the travel industry, said everyone should be concerned about airline impacts during a government shutdown.
“The FAA, the TSA, they’re essential, which means they will show up to work, but they are getting unpaid,” explained Sununu, President and CEO of Airlines for America. “So, a short-term shutdown the airlines can withstand I think, very, very well, but every day that goes on and every aspect where shutdowns occur, it gets strained.”
He said that the already tough job could “without a doubt” be made tougher by a shutdown.
Sununu explained with assurances, though.
“When you’re talking about safety, that’s number one. That’s what it’s all about. The airlines, the industry, the FAA is never going to put a plane in the air, try to land something in an unsafe way. So, that’s the good news.”
“What’s your message to Washington to leaders who are making these decisions?,” 7News Scott Thuman asked.
“Let’s get it done. Look, I think the folks here in Washington have done a phenomenal job, especially with air traffic control. We have a massively antiquated system that runs on landlines and floppy disks. I mean, literally floppy disks. Thirty years of negligence is not acceptable.”
Especially, he said, in light of what happened in January when an American Eagle flight collided with an Army helicopter, killing 67 people. There have been $12 billion allocated for wide-ranging improvements and upgrades, and a push to hire more air traffic controllers. The night of the crash, one controller was doing the job of two.
“I mean that tragedy in Washington. We saw it. We saw it actually play out. Where we go in air traffic control isn’t just defined by that one tragedy. It’s defined by 30 years of neglect, and to your point, 3,000, we need 3,000 more air traffic controllers,” said Sununu.
All of it, slowing down dramatically if President Trump and Congress fail to come to terms.
“Flights will still continue on time, but you know what won’t? These new simulators to get those new air traffic controllers that will all stop. Purchasing those simulators to get them in place. Because it’ll be kind of a big unknown in terms of ‘when is that check going to be cut’, ‘When can we actually make those purchases? This idea of removing all these old fashioned copper landlines, replacing them with fiber, all that comes to a screeching halt. And then you have to restart it again. It doesn’t just flip on with the switch, and then last time I checked, Thanksgiving’s right around the corner. Christmas is right around the corner,” Sununu said.
While he indicated the $12 billion will go a long way, it won’t be enough. Some have suggested it could take closer to $50 billion to modernize the system and make recommended safety improvements. Sununu said a shutdown could move us in the wrong direction,
link