DOT chief threatens to fire air traffic controllers who skip work
The Trump administration has also threatened to lay off thousands of federal employees at other agencies if Congress doesn’t halt the government shutdown.
An airplane takes off near the control tower at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday.Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images
Oct. 9, 2025, 4:22 PM EDT
By Corky Siemaszko
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday threatened to fire "problem children" air traffic controllers who fail to show up for work during the government shutdown.
Duffy's threat came as flight delays, caused in large part by controllers calling out sick, has snarled air traffic across the country for four straight days.
Delays have been reported at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and other major hubs like Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as smaller airports elsewhere in the country.
“If we have a continual small subset of controllers that don’t show up to work, and they’re the problem children ... if we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’re going to let them go,” Duffy said on Fox Business News. “I can’t have people not showing up for work.”
Duffy insisted controllers calling out sick is not yet a widespread problem.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dot-chief-threatens-fire-air-traffic-controllers-skip-work-rcna236696
