Republican Reps. Tom Emmer (Minn.) and Lisa McClain (Mich.) blamed Democrats for continued air travel issues amid the government shutdown on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAirports will be flooded with flight cancelations and delays, amid the busiest time to travel all year,\u201d Emmer, the House majority whip, said at a press conference<\/a> alongside McClain, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.).<\/p>\n \u201cAs TSA agents and air traffic controllers show up without pay, Democrats brag they won’t budge until planes fall out of the sky. Really? Really? Seriously, that\u2019s the Democrats\u2019 model?\u201d an animated McClain remarked<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hill has reached out to the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for comment. <\/p>\n As part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) shutdown contingency plan<\/a>, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) furloughed more than 11,000 employees, roughly a quarter of the agency\u2019s workforce. More than 13,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. Hiring and training have also continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted an increase<\/a> in air traffic controllers calling out sick during a press conference on Oct. 6. Three days later, he said on<\/a> Fox Business\u2019s \u201cVarney & Co\u201d<\/a> that DOT could dismiss those employees taking sick days.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more controllers, but we need the best and the brightest, the dedicated controllers, and if we have some on our staff that aren\u2019t dedicated like we need, we\u2019re going to let them go,\u201d Duffy added. <\/p>\n The Transportation secretary added that the average share of delays stemming from controller shortages, which was 5 percent prior to the shutdown, had jumped to 53 percent.<\/p>\n Airports across the country, from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, reported staffing shortages<\/a> last week, causing disruptions<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to flight-tracking site FlightAware<\/a>, nearly 3,000 flights within, into or out of the country have been delayed so far Tuesday, with more than 120 such flights canceled.<\/p>\n