MANHATTAN (KSNT) – With air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration staff in parts of the nation working without pay, we reached out to the Manhattan Regional Airport and the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority to see if it’s impacting operations.
According to Manhattan Regional Airport Director Brandon Keazer, TSA agents at the Manhattan Regional Airport are currently going without pay.
“Despite this, the TSA staff at MHK are dedicated and customer-oriented, continuing to report to duty and provide safe and efficient screening of all passengers flying out of Manhattan Regional Airport,” Keazer said.
Regarding air traffic controllers, airport officials in Topeka and Manhattan said the towers operate under the Federal Aviation Administration Contract Tower Program. Those workers are contracted through Midwest Air Traffic Control Services.
“The air traffic controllers who safely manage and separate aircraft operations at MHK are employed by Midwest ATC and continue to receive pay,” Keazer said. “We have not experienced any recent turnover among ATC staff.”
The program was established in 1982 and allows the FAA to contract private companies to operate air traffic control towers. The contract controllers must meet the same qualifications as FAA-employed controllers, according to the FAA.
Weather Cloudy and cool for trick-or-treating this evening
Government-employed air traffic controllers missed their paychecks on Tuesday due to the ongoing government shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the head of the controllers’ union are concerned that flight delays could multiply as increasingly stressed-out controllers call out sick.
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