NEED TO KNOW

Air traffic controllers have gone without a paycheck for over a month since the federal government shut down on Oct. 1

Hard-pressed to pay bills, veteran controllers like Jack Criss Jr have been forced to rely on delivering food to make ends meet

Current and former controllers also spoke with PEOPLE about whether they feel aviation safety is holding up amid increased strain on the system

Air traffic controller Jack Criss Jr. never imagined he’d be juggling two jobs in order to pay his bills, but that’s exactly what the 16-year Federal Aviation Administration employee has been forced to do in the wake of the federal government shutting down on Oct. 1.

“I was messed up, man,” says Criss, who hasn’t received his usual biweekly paycheck from the FAA since the shutdown start

See Full Page