Colorado Springs air traffic controllers feel effects of government shutdown

Just hours before President Trump announced a deal had been reached to end the government shutdown, local air traffic controllers took to the streets of Colorado Springs to educate the public on how it affects them.

Outside the El Paso County Courthouse, eight air traffic controllers and two TSA workers stood on the corner of Tejon and Vermijo to pass out pamphlets.

They included information on why their roles are so important to air travel.

Michael Edmonds, a union representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said they are feeling the effects.

“Everybody’s working six-day work weeks, lots of overtime. Everybody is getting fatigued and it’s not something you want your air traffic controllers to deal with,” Edmonds said.

Their rally came just as air traffic controllers across the country were calling out sick, thus causing delays in large airports on the East Coast.

The workers in Colorado Springs used their only day off of the week for their event, but they’re worried if the shutdown comes back in three weeks more delays could be seen.

Edmonds said it could, “put extra space between flights, not taking on as many flights or traffic to make it work. We’re going to do it regardless and we’re going to do it safely but we’re just going to have to mitigate it in other ways.”

Normally, the air traffic tower in Colorado Springs employs 24 people, but with the shutdown, the branch lost eight workers, bringing them down to 16.