‘Dangerous Game:’ Unions Warn Shutdown Risks Aviation Safety

Federal aviation employees were widely credited with ending the last government shutdown.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, October 08, 2025 at 05:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Unions are urgently warning that the federal government shutdown significantly endangers aviation safety, as essential personnel like air traffic controllers, safety inspectors, and TSA agents are working without pay under increasingly unsafe conditions.
The shutdown has led to widespread furloughs of over 11,000 FAA employees, hindering critical safety and technology work, including air traffic control modernization, and has already caused flight disruptions and delays at major airports.
Federal unions are challenging the White House's threats of permanent layoffs and selective back pay as illegal and unconstitutional, emphasizing the severe strain on federal workers and the aviation system.

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“This is a dangerous game,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), said during a news briefing Wednesday outside the headquarters of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in Washington, D.C.

Nelson joined representatives from AFGE, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and other public and private unions to urge Congress to reopen the federal government, warning that a prolonged shutdown could endanger aviation safety.