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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d close US airspace if officials determined air travel was dangerous, as the government shutdown stretches into its second month.

“If we thought that it was unsafe, we’ll shut the whole airspace down,” Duffy said on Monday in an interview with CNBC. He said that the US isn’t there yet but the shutdown adds more risk to the aviation system.

The Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slow traffic at many airports last week due to rising controller staffing shortages since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.

The disruptions spilled through the weekend, with the FAA temporarily halting flights into Newark Liberty International Airport near New York on Sunday evening because of staffing shortfalls. The problems contributed to 9% of flights at the busy hub being canceled and 36% being delayed, according to FlightAware.

More than 3.2 million passengers have grappled with flight cancellations and delays related to staffing since the shutdown started, Airlines for America, a trade group, said on Monday.

The delays throw into question US airlines’ ability to forecast capacity and cash in on the crucial holiday travel period that kicks off in earnest with the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

America’s travel economy has already lost more than $4 billion due to the shutdown, the US Travel Association along with hundreds of other travel-related groups and companies told lawmakers on Monday.

“With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers,” the letter said.

The FAA said in a social media that half of the 30 busiest facilities didn’t have enough staff on Friday. Nearly 80% of air traffic controllers were absent at facilities handling flights in the New York area that day, it added.

More than 6,200 US flights were delayed Friday and nearly 500 were canceled, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that there were also slowdowns in Nashville and Orlando on Sunday, with on-time departures below 80%, which is the typical target.

In Orlando, about 70% of flights departed on time and in Nashville the number was 59%. The number of on-time departures at Newark was 56%.

Performance Monday — as of 1:18 p.m. New York time — at major airports across the US has been above average, according to the data.

That may change as the day progresses.

According to an advisory from the FAA, flights into Austin will be delayed an average of 37 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. due to air traffic control staffing shortages.

The FAA also temporarily some flights into Dallas Love Field Airport beginning at 3 p.m. New York time, due to staffing.

Photo: Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Topics USA