Air traffic controllers' union chief says tension is at an 'all-time high' as workers miss their first full paycheck of the government shutdown

Air traffic controllers are still guiding the skies, but without pay and under mounting strain as the government shutdown drags on.

“We had a partial paycheck last time, so air traffic controllers have worked over 120 hours now with no pay. The tension is at an all-time high,” Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, or NATCA, told NBC News on Wednesday.

“Air traffic controllers are not only stressed, they’re not only fatigued, they’re angry. They’re upset,” Daniels said.

With “no end in sight,” he warned that air travel could become less safe each day the shutdown continues.

“When an air traffic controller isn’t 100% focused on the job that they do day in and day out, that puts the system at risk,” he said. “And every day that this drags on, that risk increases in the system.”

According to the Department of Transportover 13,000 controllers are expected to remain on duty without pay through the government shutdown.

Controllers missed their first full paychecks on October 28, following a partial payment in mid-October for work completed before the shutdown started.

Earlier this month, Daniels told Business Insider that some airline pilots and flight attendants have sent free food to air traffic controllers amid the shutdown.

Several air traffic controllers previously told Business Insider that they don’t want to be used as political bargaining chips — they just want to do their jobs and be paid fairly for it.

“We want to continue to perform for the American people,” Peter LeFevre, a Washington, D.C.-based controller and union representative, told Business Insider, “but we don’t want the financial uncertainty in the back of our minds when we should be 100% focused on the work we do.”

“The Trump administration is committed to ensuring that our nation’s air traffic controllers are paid and fully able to do their jobs keeping Americans safe — and it’s unfortunate that Democrats don’t share this priority,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Business Insider.

A representative for the NATCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider outside regular hours.

Update: October 31, 2025 — This story has been updated to include a statement from the White House.