air traffic controllers

At a Senate hearing, aviation experts testified that a shortage of air traffic controllers is leading to fatigue and distraction, likely contributing to a series of close calls on runways this year.

The number of air traffic controllers was at a record low before the government shutdown. With sickouts and resignations, union leader Joel Ortiz says the shutdown is making the skies less safe.

From inspecting planes to controlling air traffic, the federal government touches every aspect of air travel. Now a lot of that work isn't getting done because of the government shutdown.

An air traffic controller is just one employee locked into the terms of a health plan because of the ongoing federal shutdown. It's meant his child's hospital bills are "out-of-network."

At issue: punishments for an earlier strike. NPR's Lauren Frayer says of Spain's controllers, "They're among the best-paid civil servants, with average salaries almost half a million dollars a year."

The fire in the basement of the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, Ill., caused numerous flight cancellations at O'Hare and Midway.