US Warns of Need to Close Some Airspace if Shutdown Persists

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that if an ongoing government shutdown continues another week it could lead to "mass chaos" and could force him to close some of the national airspace to air traffic.

"If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it," Duffy said at a press conference Tuesday.

It’s Duffy’s third warning in as many days.

On Sunday, he cautioned about mounting travel disruptions, saying on CBS’ "Face the Nation," “I think the real consequence is, what kind of rolling delays do you have throughout the system, right? We’ve seen problems in L.A., Dallas, D.C., Boston, and Atlanta — and I think it’s only going to get worse.”

By Monday, Duffy warned that the Trump administration would shut down the U.S. aviation system if an ongoing government shutdown made air travel unsafe.

“If we thought it was unsafe, we’d shut the whole airspace down. We wouldn’t let people travel. We’re not there yet — it’s just significant delays,” Duffy told CNBC, adding that “absolutely, there’s more risk” during the shutdown.