US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded US air-traffic controllers return to work and offered a $10,000 bonus to those who had stayed on the job without pay during the government shutdown.The shutdown, which began October 1 and was now the longest in history, had meant 13,000 controllers, 50,000 TSA agents, and more than a million other govt workers went without pay for over a month, prompting some to call in sick, take leave or otherwise not show up for work.
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked’,” Trump raged on social media.He went on to offer a bonus of $10,000 to controllers who worked unpaid during the shutdown, describing them as “great patriots.“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump said.Jimmy Kimmel’s delusional wife is yet another self-important lib willing to sacrifice family ties for politicsOfficials said it was unclear under the controllers’ union contract how they could be docked or what the source of the $10,000 bonus Trump promised was.” For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU. You didn’t step up to help the US against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.“You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record. If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind! You will be quickly replaced by true Patriots, who will do a better job on the Brand New State of the Art Equipment, the best in the World, that we are in the process of ordering,” he added. Airlines cancelled 1,780 US flights Monday, and there were also 5,014 delays for flights within, into or out of the country, according to airline traffic tracker FlightAware. The situation was expected to worsen this week, New York Post reported.The FAA had instructed airlines to cut 4% of their daily flights starting last week at 40 major airports based on air-traffic-control safety concerns caused by staffing issues amid the shutdown. Reductions in flights were mandated to reach 6% on Tuesday and then hit 10% on Friday.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he first wanted to see air-traffic-control staffing and safety data improve before the govt-required flight cuts were lifted.The Senate took the first step towards ending the shutdown Sunday evening, with Congress set to take final votes on reopening the govt later this week.
