The US has said that it might be forced to shut down the airspace in certain parts of the country if the government shutdown continues into next week.
"If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a press briefing on Tuesday in Washington, DC, seeking to blame the Democrats for the shutdown, which has almost set a new record for the longest shutdown ever in US history.
"You will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancelations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have the air traffic controllers," he noted.
Staffing shortages affect nearly half of all major air traffic control stations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
While the closure is in effect, air traffic controllers must work unpaid.
The Federal Aviation Administration estimated that 13,000 air traffic controllers are now working unpaid.
According to the administration, 80 percent of employees in the New York area called out of work on Friday.
Day 35 of shutdown
Duffy warned last month that if air traffic controllers failed to report for work, they might be let go.
"When you come to work, you get paid (after the shutdown ends)," Duffy told Fox Business on October 9.
"If you don't come to work, you don't get paid ... If we have some on our staff that aren't dedicated (to their work), we're going to let them go."
Over the weekend, however, Duffy shifted gears, telling told CBS News that he would not dismiss any air traffic controllers for failing to report for duty.
"They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck. They don't need to be fired," he said.
The federal government shutdown, now on its day 35, is on track to break the record of the longest in the US history on Wednesday with 36 days.
It began on October 1 after a breakdown in negotiations on federal spending priorities.
Thousands of federal workers have since been furloughed, working without pay, while government services have been curtailed or suspended.
The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a House-passed Republican funding bill for the 14th time to end the shutdown, with Democrats refusing to vote in favor of the bill over Republicans’ refusal to restore health care subsidies to millions of Americans.
