The suspension of the work of the US government, which began as early as December 22nd and has already become a record for the duration in history, has a negative impact on the work of American airlines. This is stated by representatives of air carriers.
“We are close to a critical point”, said the CEO of JetBlue, Robin Hayes. “The longer it goes, the longer it will be to rebuild the aviation infrastructure”, added he.
Previously, companies such as Southwest Airlines, United Continental and Delta Air Lines warned of possible interruptions in flight schedules and a decrease in revenue in the first quarter.
About a quarter of US federal government agencies suspended their work after Congress and President Donald Trump could not reach an agreement to finance the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
As a result, approximately 800,000 civil servants in the United States currently either work without pay or are sent on unpaid leave during the “shutdown”. This applies to air traffic controllers and transport security officers.
At some airports, the lack of staff has already led to the closure of part of the checkpoints and the formation of queues. In addition, representatives of the air traffic controllers and pilots trade unions this week warned that the “shutdown” leads to increased safety risks.
In recent days, about 7.5% of airport security officers do not go to work, which is about twice of the average level. Civil servants are not getting their second salary in a row, and there are fears that many of them will start looking for another job.
