The United States is ready to close its airspace — Duffy

The US Department of Transportation is ready to close the country's airspace if air travel is deemed dangerous due to the ongoing shutdown. This was stated in an interview with CNBC by the head of the department Sean Duffy.

"If we decide that it is unsafe, we will close all airspace," Duffy said, quoted by the publication. "Время.иа ".

According to the minister, it hasn't come to that yet, but the shutdown increases the risks for the country's aviation system.

The Federal Aviation Administration last week was forced to slow down air traffic at a number of airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, Bloomberg reports meanwhile.

According to the department, on Friday, half of the 30 busiest dispatch centers in the country experienced a shortage of employees. Almost 80% of air traffic controllers were absent from facilities serving flights in the New York area. According to the FlightAware website, more than 6,200 flights were delayed on Friday, and almost 500 were canceled.