Air Traffic Controllers at MSP Relieved as Government Shutdown Ends

Operations at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport are gradually returning to normal as the federal government reopens following the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The 43-day standoff left thousands of federal employees struggling after missing multiple paychecks.

Drew McQueen with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the financial strain was severe but that controllers continued to show up for work regardless. “We showed up through the pandemic, we showed up through 9/11, and we showed up through the last government shutdown. There’s nothing more debilitating than financial worries,” he said.

Federal officials confirmed that back pay will begin rolling out over the next several days. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged concerns about getting staffing levels back up quickly, saying, “I’m concerned that we’re not going to have, on day one, controllers come back into the towers right away. It is their jobs and they will be paid, but it might not be immediate.”

McQueen and other advocates are pushing for legislation to guarantee pay for essential workers during any future shutdowns. Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian echoed that sentiment in an interview on CNBC, calling it “unacceptable” that employees essential to national air safety could go unpaid for more than a month.

“The best way to prevent this,” Bastian said, “is to ensure air traffic controllers and TSA agents are paid through any government shutdown. Next time this happens — because it will happen — they must get paid.”

McQueen agreed, adding, “We need to address the elephant in the room now. I think we need to just do what the Delta CEO says and pay our air traffic controllers.”

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