A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
As we just heard, some of the nation's largest airlines are adding to the pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown and pass a funding bill without the health care subsidies they want. Now, for more perspective on how the shutdown is affecting the air travel industry, we've got Geoff Freeman. He's the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
Geoff, it's been more than a month since you wrote a letter to Congress imploring them to keep the government open. We're now on day 31 of the shutdown. So what message do you want to send to leaders now?
GEOFF FREEMAN: I think the message is that all government shutdowns are irresponsible. Government has a responsibility to give the American people a responsible operating system in this country. It's patently absurd that we should expect tens of thousands of air traffic controllers, TSA agents and other essential workers to go to work each day and not get paid. Congress - government in general - owes them more.
MARTÍNEZ: So Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters the shutdown is causing delays at airports. Let's listen to that for a second here.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SEAN DUFFY: We've seen blips and blurbs. Whether it's LAX or it's Atlanta or it's Dallas, you're seeing impacts of this shutdown on our airspace. And that means travelers are delayed. Travelers are canceled. It has real problems.
MARTÍNEZ: But at the same briefing, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that fewer two - fewer than 2% of flights have been delayed during the shutdown. So, Geoff, who do we believe here? I mean, who - I mean, which one is it, right? Is it causing delays or is it not?
FREEMAN: Well, Scott and Secretary Duffy are both right. It is causing delays. We're fortunate that October is the best weather month of the year and a month where travel patterns are a little bit lower. But here we are, weeks away from Thanksgiving, the peak of travel for the year. We risk delays. We risk cancellations. And it isn't just about seeing your family. This is how the economy runs. We've got to move people from point A to point B. The system is being slowed down already, and we expect more of that to come.
MARTÍNEZ: So this is a dam that, you know, you can't keep putting fingers in holes, right? It's about to bust, is what you're saying?
FREEMAN: That was exactly the warning of airline CEOs across the industry. When the system breaks, not from a safety standpoint, but from an efficiency standpoint - when it breaks, it doesn't do so linearly. It falls off a cliff in terms of being unable to keep up with the travel demand that's out there. That's the risk that we're taking. We believe government's responsibility is to keep the government open at all times. Settle your differences. Get in a room and negotiate. But holding the travel system hostage should not be an option.
MARTÍNEZ: Falling off that cliff - what would that look like at the airport?
FREEMAN: Well, I think we've seen those days before with TSA lines out the doors, with massive delays and cancellations that we've seen around the holidays before, unpredictability in the system, people canceling trips ahead of time because they don't have confidence in the system. That's the risk we're taking, and I think it's a risk that shouldn't even be on the table.
MARTÍNEZ: What about the revenue impact on airlines? Are airlines losing money?
FREEMAN: Well, we know the travel system in general loses about $1 billion in travel spending each week, and that's ticking up right now. We're at least $4 billion that has evaporated from the travel economy. It should be a massive concern. But the biggest concern, I think, is the people who are going to work each day who are doing so unpaid, and they can only do this for so long.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, you wrote earlier this month that the shutdown is doing real, irreversible damage. What about this is irreversible?
FREEMAN: Well, I mean, look at the issues with air traffic control for many, many years. We're short 3,000 air traffic controllers. The administration is working hard to increase the number of air traffic controllers. But how many people are going to go into this line of work if they know that the rug can be pulled out from under them at any time - if they know the government can shut down, they won't get paid? If we want to build a pipeline of air traffic controllers, then we need to show them that there's consistency in the system, we value their work, and they won't be taking unnecessary risks by working in air traffic control. That's the irreversible part. The perception we're creating is that working in the travel industry and the air traffic control industry is something that's at risk whenever somebody wants to shut down the federal government.
MARTÍNEZ: Geoff Freeman is president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. Geoff, thanks for the time.
FREEMAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
