PHILADELPHIA — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of “mass chaos” in the national airspace next week if the government shutdown continues, as 13,000 air traffic controllers who are required to work without pay miss a second full paycheck.

“You will see mass flight delays,” he said during a news conference Tuesday in Philadelphia. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, about 50% of major air traffic control facilities are currently facing staffing shortages because of the shutdown , as workers who are forced to do their jobs without pay call in sick.

The flight-tracking website FlightAware.com repo

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