Air traffic controllers who stuck around during shutdown have a serious bonus coming
Hundreds out of the thousands of air traffic controllers who worked during the shutdown are getting a bonus — but only if they didn’t skip
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Hundreds of air traffic controllers and technicians are set to receive a hefty bonus — but only if they had “perfect attendance” during the longest government shutdown in history.
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For their work during the shutdown, 776 air traffic controllers and technicians will get a $10,000 bonus, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday in a joint press release. Those who are eligible will get notified next week and will receive the $10,000 by Dec. 9.
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DOT said the move is in response to President Trump’s “directive to honor air traffic personnel who came in to work day-in and day-out.”
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem had previously announced that some TSA workers across the country, plus more than 270 TSA workers at Logan International Airport in Boston, would get a $10,000 bonus — if they had perfect attendance during the shutdown.
The longest government shutdown in American history — which lasted 43 days — centered on Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies that end in late December. Democratic senators had refused to supply their votes on a temporary funding bill unless the GOP agreed on extending those subsidies. The GOP and President Trump said they wouldn’t negotiate while the government is closed, causing the monthslong standoff that ended after a handful of Senate Democrats agreed to pass the bill. The second longest government shutdown was during Trump’s first term in office.
The FAA had started limiting flights at 40 major airports in the U.S. on Nov. 7 in response to the prolonged shutdown with a limited staff made worse by an ongoing shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers. On Monday, the administration lifted all restrictions, allowing airlines to resume flights.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents some aviation workers in the U.S., said in a release on Oct. 31 that these workers were putting in “10-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay.”
Many air traffic controllers — about 11,000 — worked without pay for two pay periods during the shutdown since they were deemed essential workers. But less than 800 of those workers will get the bonus.
“This award is an acknowledgement of their dedication and a heartfelt appreciation for going above and beyond in service to the nation,” Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in the release.
The release did not indicate whether employees who had taken vacation or fatigue calls would be eligible for the bonus, CNBC first noted.
— Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Alex Daniel contributed to this article.