Air traffic controllers helped end the last government shutdown, and may again

WASHINGTON — More than a month into the last government shutdown in 2019, a few air traffic controllers finally reached their breaking point.

There was only a "slight increase" in sick leave at two facilities in Virginia and Florida that handle high-altitude traffic, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. But it was enough to throw some major East Coast airports into chaos .

With another shutdown underway , U.S. airlines are once again bracing for the possibility of delays and disruptions to commercial aviation.

"You have the reality of human beings, many of [whom] are living paycheck to paycheck," said Dennis Tajer, a longtime pilot for American Airlines, and a spokesman for the union that represents its 16,000 pilots. "It doesn't take long before the system slows down