Trump Warns Air Traffic Controllers to Work or Get ‘Docked’

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump urged air traffic controllers who have missed work during the government shutdown to return to their posts, threatening to withhold pay for those who do not show up as travelers in the US face flight delays and cancellations.

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“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,’” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.

Air traffic controllers have worked without pay since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

Trump also pledged a bonus for those who continued working during the funding impasse. “For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country,” he said.

Asked during an interview on Fox News later Monday where he would obtain funding for the bonuses, Trump said: “I don’t know.”

“I’ll get it from someplace,” he added. “I always get the money from someplace.”

Any such payment would need to be approved by lawmakers and is not part of the deal to end the impasse that is moving through Congress. That bill also guarantees that all federal workers receive full back pay for the duration of the shutdown and would recall government employees laid off during the closure.

Trump’s comments follow a group of centrist Democrats who broke ranks to back a plan to end the funding impasse, now in its 41st day.

Flight delays have raised pressure on lawmakers to bring an end to the spending fight and the government has mandated restrictions on travel at key hubs across the country, citing staff shortages. Air traffic controllers have called in sick at higher rates as they are being forced to work for weeks without pay.

This past weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration posted notices of additional airports or airspace in the US that faced delays due to a shortage of staff.

Snow in Chicago, one of the country’s busiest hubs, compounded those traffic issues on Monday. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport saw the highest number of cancellations with at least 8% of the scheduled total. Delta Air Lines Inc. had the largest amount of canceled flights.