Amid shutdown, is it safe to fly? Airlines say yes, but worry about increasing delays

Frustrated airline executives sounded alarms Thursday that the month-long government shutdown could cause major disruptions to air travel if it drags on much longer.

So far, the airline industry hasn't seen any serious damage, several airline CEOs said. But as federal employees who keep the system safe miss another paycheck Friday, they're worried that security lines will grow and flight delays will multiply.

In one conference call after another, the executives told investors that the shutdown was "maddening" and getting worse.

“Everyone needs to be on notice and on guard that this shutdown could harm the economy and it could harm air travel,’’ Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said.

“We are close to a tipping point, as many of these employees are about to miss a second paycheck,’’ said JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes.

“That will, at some point, result in people not being at work,’’ said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker.

All three CEOs praised and thanked government workers for keeping air travel humming so far under trying circumstances. But they also dismissed any concerns that flight safety is at risk during the shutdown.

“It is safe and it will be safe,’’ Kelly said. “I think the risk is that things slow down in order to retain a safe operating environment. That’s both from an air traffic perspective as well as an airport perspective.’’

The shutdown is headed to Day 35 with no clear path to reopening the government. On Friday, federal workers in agencies that don't have their funding approved by Congress will miss another biweekly paycheck.

Federal employee unions say those financial strains could lead to a dangerous situation as absenteeism rates climb for workers unable to afford transportation to work or child care.

Air traffic controllers say they have a "growing concern for the safety and security of our members, our airlines, and the traveling public."

The Senate rejected two proposals Thursday to end the shutdown — one Democratic and one Republican — but neither could get the 60 votes needed to bypass a filibuster.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that "the traveling public can be assured that our nation's airspace system is safe."

FAA spokesman Gregory Martin said the agency has internal data showing no increase in safety-related reports. "We have not observed any appreciable difference, and in some instances slight improvements, in performance over the last several weeks compared to the same periods during the previous two years," he said.

He declined to release that data.

Independent data sources also don't show a clear impact.

"We really haven’t seen abnormal disruption," said Sara Orsi of FlightAware, a company that provides real-time flight tracking data. If anything, she said, there have been fewer flight cancellations than one might expect given the winter weather.

On Capitol Hill, a panel convened by the House Homeland Security Committee agreed that travelers are safe for now but that a "breaking point" may come sooner rather than later.

"We are in the midst of a security crisis and it is one of our own making, frankly," said Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration.

So far, he said, the impact of the shutdown can be hard to quantify, measured in stress, hardship, anxiety and anger. “A breaking point may come tomorrow, when they miss a paycheck for the second time this year," he said.

Bart Jansen contributed from Washington.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amid shutdown, is it safe to fly? Airlines say yes, but worry about increasing delays