Lexington, Louisville airports not yet affected by federal government shutdown
Almost a week into the federal government shutdown, some airports are feeling the pain of delays due to federal workforce staff shortages.
But that’s not the case at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport or Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport — at least not yet.
Spokespeople for both airports said Wednesday morning their operations had not been affected by delays or other abnormal problems.
This comes as airports are already starting to feel the squeeze from shortages of Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Authority workers, both of whom are paid by the federal government and are essential to ensure flight safety.
“We have not had any impacts from the shutdown. All of our operations are continuing as usual,” Amy Caudill, vice president of marketing & community relations for Blue Grass Airport, told the Herald-Leader.
Caudill said she has not been told that air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration will work any less than usual in Lexington, despite receiving no pay. Air traffic controllers are scheduled to receive a partial paycheck next Tuesday. If the shutdown continues, they will receive no money for the next two-week pay period.
According to CNN, air traffic control towers at Chicago O’Hare, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Newark and Philadelphia all saw shortages Tuesday.
For TSA officers who run security screenings for passengers, the first partial paycheck will hit on Friday. The next, on Oct. 24, will be zero unless the funding stalemate breaks.
The federal government shut down Oct. 1 as a result of inaction by Congress, which has been unable to get the 60 votes required in the U.S. Senate to fund the government. Republicans have pushed for a continuing resolution that does not change funding levels, while Democrats have been unwilling to go along unless health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are extended.
Louisville’s airport is in a similar situation as Lexington, said Natalie Chaudoin, director of public relations at the airport also known as SDF.
“Good news from our standpoint: At this time, SDF has not been impacted. Our staffing levels for both TSA as well as air traffic controllers have remained consistent, so it’s business as usual at this point, just as we were pre-shutdown,” Chaudoin said.
Chaudoin said it would be too soon to say how the airport would react if the shutdown were to drag on. However, she emphasized that the airport’s importance to cargo shipping as the home of the UPS Worldport is massive.
“We believe by the end of the year we’re going to be the busiest cargo airport in North America — top three, top five in the world. So, obviously, any impacts to air traffic controller staffing here would have a large-scale impact,” Chaudoin said.
Caudill did not project how operations at Blue Grass Airport would be affected if the shutdown continued, but she wished for an end to the standoff.
“We feel for individuals who are working with us and aren’t receiving a paycheck, and so, naturally, we would love to see the shutdown come to a conclusion,” Caudill said.
A spokesperson for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport did not respond to requests for comment on the shutdown.
