Aviation Workers Say Government Shutdown ‘needlessly Risks' Safety in the Skies

WASHINGTON -- Air traffic controllers, pilots and other key cogs of the nation's aviation sector on Thursday demanded an end to the government shutdown, rallying outside the Capitol to highlight the growing danger of not reaching a resolution."The shutdown needlessly risks the safety, security and efficiency of our national airspace system," Capt. Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a show of industry solidarity toward the federal aviation workers hit by the funding fight.The shutdown's stress on air travel is proving to be a major flash point, particularly in busy air spaces like North Texas, as the impasse reaches nearly three full weeks.While air traffic control operations by the Federal Aviation Administration and airport screenings by the Transportation Security Administration have continued amid the funding lapse, that work is being done by federal employees who are not getting paid.Those workers on Friday will get their first $0.00 pay stub, stoking worries that the situation could soon become untenable.  Continue reading...