Delta and United call on Congress to end the government shutdown immediately

Delta Airlines and United Airlines Delta called on Congress on Thursday to reopen the US government and pay air traffic controllers, and Delta urged senators to “immediately approve a clean continuing resolution.”

US air traffic controllers lost their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown continued into a fourth week with no end in sight while Republican and Democratic senators remained deadlocked.

“The loss of payrolls only increases the pressure on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian had warned earlier this month that the airline could see effects from the prolonged shutdown.

Vice President J.D. Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with the lobby group Airlines for America, whose members include Delta, United and Air America. American Airlines And others.

Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution, United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters outside the White House, adding that the shutdown was putting pressure on the economy.

Air traffic controllers and TSA officers are essential employees who are required to work during the shutdown even though they do not receive regular pay.

The missed paychecks come as superintendents struggle with a long-standing staffing shortage. There are 3,800 fully certified controllers short of the FAA’s target, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

“These additional deviations will exacerbate existing risks in an already strained system,” Daniels said in an opinion piece published by The Hill on Tuesday.

“Every day that the closure continues, the national airspace system becomes less safe than it was the day before, as controllers’ focus shifts from their safety-critical tasks to financial uncertainty,” he said.

The shutdown began on October 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open.

Democratic senators are insisting that Republicans agree to extend boosted health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act before they vote on funding to reopen the government.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that a four-week shutdown would cost the economy at least $7 billion by the end of 2026. A six-week shutdown would cost the economy $11 billion, and an eight-week shutdown would cost $14 billion, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Flights were delayed at several US airports over the past month, but the severe disruptions that preceded the end of the longest shutdown on record, between late 2018 and early 2019, did not occur.

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.