The Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration announced this week that air traffic controllers and technicians who attend work without any lapses during the government shutdown will be offered bonuses in the sum of $10,000.
The FAA and DOT reported that the bonuses will be issued to 776 controllers and technicians, who will be notified next week and will be paid by December 9.
According to their union, the U.S. has approximately 11,000 fully certified air traffic controllers.
In a release on late Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that “These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown.”
However, the DOT and FAA did not immediately indicate that preplanned vacation time or fatigue calls would make controllers and technicians ineligible for the bonus.
More absences of air traffic controllers who had to work without their regular paychecks in the course of the more than 40 days-long shutdowns, the longest in the history of the U.S., caused airlines to slow and cancellations of flights.
The shutdown came to an end on November 12 in a bill that will fund the government until January.
The inconveniences of the shutdown and additional burden on air traffic controllers, who are already obliged to work six-day workweeks, caused an uproar in the aviation industry, prompting lawmakers to make sure that critical workers would not be left unpaid in case of a recurrence of the shutdown.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents the air traffic controllers of the country, indicated that it was made aware of the decision to pay cash bonuses hours prior to the announcement.
Therefore, it also claimed that 311 of the employees who are represented by NATCA are eligible to receive the payments.
In a statement, the union stated that “We look forward to working with the Administration to provide the appropriate recognition to those not covered by the Secretary’s announcement.”
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, the union representing 11,000 FAA and Defense Department employees, such as technicians, indicated that “reviewing the information that has been provided by the FAA and are evaluating how best to ensure that all employees who worked during the shutdown are recognized.”
The Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last week that the Transportation Security Administration officers, who were screening passengers at airports, might also receive $10,000 bonuses for having good attendance.
In a press release, DHS reported that “Despite tremendous personal, operational, and financial challenges, these dedicated officers showed up to work every day for more than a month, without pay, ensuring the American people could travel safely.”
