Coloradans could be waiting in longer lines for fewer flights in and out of Denver International Airport if the shutdown drags into February.
“We were already at a 30-year low for air traffic controllers before the shutdown,” Josh Waggener, president of Denver’s National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said at a Monday morning press conference at DIA organized by the Democratic members of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
“And 20 percent are eligible to retire,” he said. “I’d consider retiring if I were eligible.”
Those who can’t retire are looking at other ways to make money, like working at a friend’s bar or weekends at a retail store. It’s not ideal, Waggener said. “But we have people who are taking out loans to pay their bills.”
The shutdown of the federal government, now entering its fourth week, is the longest in U.S. history, with no indications it will end soon. Washington remains divided along partisan lines over whether to support President Donald Trump’s demand for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.