‘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:

The government shutdown is severely compromising aviation safety by forcing essential federal employees, such as air traffic controllers and safety inspectors, to work without pay or be furloughed.
This has led to widespread staffing shortages, increased workload on remaining personnel, halted critical safety and modernization initiatives, and caused significant flight delays and disruptions at major airports.
Aviation unions are fiercely advocating for an end to the shutdown, highlighting the dangerous conditions and actively challenging the White House's threats of permanent layoffs and funding cuts through legal action.

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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.