Pentagon offers iair traffic controllers to Department of Transportation
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has proposed deploying military air traffic controllers to civilian airports across the country amid staffing shortages due to the federal government shutdown.
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy made this statement, News.Az reports.
"Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth texted me yesterday and said he might have some air traffic controllers, and if I could find a use for them, he'd be willing to let me use them," Duffy told CNN. "I don't know yet if I can, because they're not certified to operate in the airspaces we need them in, but if I can, I'll use them."
Duffy added that the US currently has a shortage of approximately 1,000-2,000 air traffic controllers, a situation that will persist even after the government reopens. "I accepted the resignations of four air traffic controllers the day before the shutdown, and now they're resigning at a rate of 15-20 a day, so after the shutdown, it will be more difficult for me to increase the number of air traffic controllers," he said.
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