The Federal Aviation Administration will be forced to cut $483 million from its annual budget, which could lead to each worker getting one to two days per pay period. That means fewer air traffic controllers will be monitoring the planes coming in at airports.
A spokeswoman says that in major hubs such as Los Angeles and New York, that means up to 30 fewer planes can land every hour.
"Flights will be delayed, people may be less apt to travel, that could hurt the economy. At say smaller communities, towers could be closed so you won’t have people coming into that area anymore, putting money into the economy," said Sarah Dunn, National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The FAA is required to give the workers a 30-day notice before they’re furloughed. So, the delays won’t start until April.
Dunn says because Hawaii relies heavily on tourism, the furloughs will have an extremely negative effect on the economy. It could also just discourage Hawaii residents from flying in general.
"Fewer flight options for people flying out of Hawaii and there may be higher ticket prices and more delays even on the flights that are available," Dunn said.
The FAA points out that safety for travelers will not be compromised, but delays will be inevitable. Safety is the major concern for the FBI.
A spokesman for the Honolulu office says workers will be furloughed for 14 days from May through September, which amounts to about a 12 percent decrease the time they investigate matters of national security, human trafficking, and child pornography, just to name a few.
"If you’re taking us off the streets for about 12 percent of the work hours, you’re just gonna see less of that. We’re gonna do everything we can to honor our oath of office, but we can’t kid ourselves and think we’ll be able to be as productive if you’re benching us," said Tom Simon, FBI Honolulu Office.
The FBI says there’s no imminent danger, but the long-term effect will be significant.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
