HOUSTON — Additional ground stops are possible at Houston’s airports Friday afternoon as the government shutdown continues, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA reported that ground stops are possible at both George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport after 2 p.m.
This comes after ground stops at both airports were issued on Tuesday and a ground stop at Bush Airport was issued on Thursday.
Some TSA employees on Thursday told KHOU 11 that staffing issues are still in play, with some employees calling out or being reassigned across terminals.
After weeks of air traffic controllers and TSA agents working without pay, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said some controllers have had to take second jobs just to make ends meet. He said the controllers should be focused on controlling the airspace without the burden of a second job.
John Bratcher, the regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, expressed those same concerns.
“We have single parents that, you know, rely on pay for childcare and such so that they can come to do this job,” Bratcher said. “Now we have people that have to, a risk to the system, to think about a distraction of, ‘How am I going to pay for my mortgage.’ We’re like every other American. Many of us live paycheck to paycheck.”
Staffing issues could get worse the longer the shutdown drags on.
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