Colorado Springs air traffic controllers glad shutdown is over, worry what happens next

President Trump announced Friday that the partial government shutdown will end, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be back to work with pay after 35 days of waiting.

In Colorado, the Department of Labor and Employment estimates 23,000 federal workers were impacted. Some of those workers include air traffic controllers in Colorado Springs.

Eight of those air traffic controllers tell KRDO they had to be furloughed. Michael Edmonds, the union leader for air traffic controllers in the Springs, says they are relieved by the announcement.

“We’ve all been pitching in calling our congressmen, it’s been a blast campaign to make this happen,” said Edmonds.

Even those who aren’t federal workers say they are excited to hear the government re-opening, but it may not be open for long. President Trump has already made it clear that if there’s still no funding for a border wall in three weeks, he will shut down the government again.

It’s a very real concern for Edmonds and other air traffic controllers.

“It’s definitely a fear moving forward,” Edmonds said, “If it doesn’t happen and we are back in the same position, we’re going to be crushed.”

Within that three-week time frame, Edmonds says they will try and certify four more air traffic controllers so that if another shutdown does happen, they will have more people on the clock, just not getting paid.