‘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

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

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

Key Takeaways:

Aviation unions are warning that the prolonged government shutdown severely compromises air travel safety due to unpaid, overworked, and furloughed critical federal employees like air traffic controllers and safety inspectors.
The shutdown exacerbates existing understaffing within the FAA, halts essential safety and technology work, and jeopardizes critical modernization plans for the air traffic control system.
These staffing shortages and operational strains are already causing significant flight disruptions and delays at major U.S. airports.
Beyond the immediate shutdown, unions are actively challenging White House threats of permanent federal employee layoffs and discriminatory withholding of back pay, deeming them illegal and unconstitutional.

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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.