Union representing FAA workers warns shutdown could lead to staff departures, cripple flight systems nationwide

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — As the FAA begins grounding flights due to the government shutdown, workers who maintain the nation’s critical aviation systems say if they’re not paid soon, they may be forced to leave—potentially gridlocking U.S. airspace far beyond this week’s flight cuts. Keeping planes in the air is a team sport. “It takes a skill level, and we’re the safest airspace in the world,” said Kelly McGonigal. Pilots depend on air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers depend on people like Kelly McGonigal. “If an air traffic controller uses it, our guys make sure it’s spot on and working like it should,” McGonigal said. He’s a Noman-based representative of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS)—a union representing thousands of FAA workers at airports across the country