With the partial federal government shutdown now in its third week, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is saying there are not any operational problems yet, but that officials are keeping an eye on things.
The shutdown began on Oct. 1.
Under the law, essential federal workers, including air traffic controllers and officers with the Transportation Security Administration must continue to work. While most federal employees who have not been furloughed are required to work without pay until there is a deal, CNBC has reported that air traffic controllers received partial checks on Tuesday.
The report also said some controllers were outside of LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday handing out leaflets urging the public to ask lawmakers to end the shutdown.
“As the Port Authority is a self-sustaining non-federal agency, a government shutdown does not impact our ability to operate our own facilities, like the airport terminals,” the agency told the Chronicle in an email last week. “However, as we saw in 2018-19, a federal government shutdown does affect federal workers who are essential to the functioning of the Port Authority’s airports — including TSA and [Customs and Border Protection] agents and air traffic controllers — which could result in delays and severe operating challenges at the airports.”
The PA added that to help mitigate any potential impacts on its customers, it is continuously monitoring staffing levels at TSA checkpoints and CBP inspection areas, deploying additional customer care resources as needed “and closely coordinating with our federal partners and the broader airport community.”
Projected wait times related to standard TSA and CBP operations are available on the websites of the PA’s four airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport (jfkairport.com), LaGaurdia Airport (laguardiaairport.com), New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County (swfny.com) and Newark Liberty Airport (newarkairport.com).
For national flight status updates, visit the National Airspace System nasstatus.faa.gov. The PA is encouraging travelers to allow extra time and check the status of their flights prior to heading to the airport.
Representatives of Delta Air Lines, a major carrier at JFK and LaGuardia, and JetBlue, which has its headquarters in Long Island City, did not respond to requests for comment.
The Airline Pilots Association which represents 80,000 pilots, also did not respond, but on its X page called for an end to the shutdown on Monday,
“Our aviation system safely moves millions of passengers & pounds of cargo daily. Now, thousands of federal aviation workers are doing it without pay,” the union posted.
Published reports state that a number of smaller airports across the country have had delays due to shortages of controllers, but the New York region has not been hit.
The Chronicle was unable to schedule an interview with a representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers’ union. A message on the union’s website said the group does not support any type of job action on the part of federal employees that would reflect on them, the union or related professions.