The Trump administration is considering how it can pay air traffic controllers as the government shutdown continues, five sources told Politico.
Paying air traffic controllers would cost more than $500 million a month, a congressional aide said, and concern is rising that a mass sickout among unpaid air traffic controllers could cripple flights across the country.
Air traffic controllers received partial paychecks last Tuesday, their last paychecks until the shutdown ends.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has noted "increased staffing shortages across the system," the Federal Aviation Administration said. "When that happens, the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations."
Sickouts during the 2018–2019 shutdown are credited with ending the impasse, the longest government shutdown in history.
"We don't want to get to that point again," a source close to the Trump administration told Politico.
It is unclear where the White House would find the money. The White House and Office of Management and Budget did not respond to requests for comment from Politico.
OMB Director Russell Vought said last week that the White House is playing "budgetary Twister to find a pot of money that has a similar purpose that we can pay them, so it does have an impact on how long this can go without having severe repercussions."
"We don't want air traffic control to just start staying home sick," he added.
The White House has already arranged to ensure that military personnel get paid during the shutdown, taking $8 billion the Department of War had previously allocated for research and development.
Air traffic controllers will receive their full back pay when the shutdown ends.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.