Exec. VP of Air Traffic Controllers Assoc.: Flight Delays Are ‘Direct Result’ of ‘Reckless’ Shutdown

EXCERPT:

SCIUTTO: “This is a direct result of the shutdown?”
GILBERT:” Absolutely. You know, I was on your show, and I thank you for having us last week. We predicted that you cannot continue to operate a system this complex for this long without the support structure of the people that are furloughed. We are already short-staffed. Now you have added the stress to air traffic controllers and their personal circumstances and they’re not sleeping at night. We are concerned that they are not fit for duty. I don’t know the details of every absence, but they’re not at the actual airport. I’m told that the absences are at Washington Center which is in Leesburg, Virginia, which encompasses the entire east coast. So we are concerned about them being fit for duty. Is that why they are not there? The system is too strained.”