Air traffic controllers promised fast shutdown pay, but they've been told that before

An American Eagle jet flies past the air traffic control tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on, Nov. 8, 2025. As essential employees, controllers were required to work during the government shutdown without pay. When the last shutdown ended in 2019, it took some years to get all the money they were owed.

The Transportation Secretary says air traffic controllers will be paid promptly as the government reopens. But after the last shutdown, in 2019, some controllers sued to get paid in full for overtime.

(Image credit: Ross D. Franklin)