Xinhua News Agency, Washington, October 23 U.S. government "stop" into the fourth week of aviation safety worries

The New York Times journalist.

On the 22nd, the U.S. federal government "stop" entered the fourth week, the provisional allocation bill was blocked again in the Senate on the same day" the negative impact on all aspects of society further highlighted, especially in the field of aviation, the shortage of personnel caused serious flight delays, some airports suspended operations, raising concerns about aviation safety.

The U.S. Senate held its twelfth vote on the provisional allocation bill on the evening of 22nd, with 54 votes in favour and still not reaching the required 60 votes to pass.

Since October 1st, the impact of the government's "shutdown" on American aviation safety has become the focus of attention of all parties. The United States has already faced the problem of a serious shortage of air traffic controllers. As the "shutdown" deadlock continues, more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security personnel who are required to work without pay are under increasing financial pressure, and the number of employees who call in sick leave due to long-term work is also increasing day by day, resulting in serious delays of some flights and even affecting airport operations.

According to the announcement of the FAA, due to the insufficient air traffic control personnel, the agency once ordered two airports in Houston to suspend operations on the 21st, and flights resumed taking off and landing later that day. On the afternoon of 21st, staffing problems also caused flight delays at Newark Airport in New Jersey.

According to the flight tracking website, hundreds of flights were delayed at two Houston airports on the afternoon of the 21st, and more than 170 flights were delayed at New York airport. Flight tracking website data also showed that since the federal government "stopped" there have been large numbers of flights delayed every day across the United States, with almost 20,000 flights delayed on the 18th to the 20th.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on Fox News Channel on the 20th that air traffic controllers will not be able to get all their due wages next week. "There will be more absenteeism soon, and the shortage of staff will spread rapidly".

The American Union of Professional Aviation Safety Professionals issued a statement on the 21st, saying that the pressure caused by the government's "shutdown" on employees in the aviation safety field is emerging. "Like many Americans, many of the employees we represent are moonshine, and the government 'shutdown' has put severe financial pressure on their families." Dave Spero, the union's president, said,"Employees who have been forced to take unpaid leave want to return to work, and all employees need to be paid... We call on Congress to resume government offices as soon as possible."

According to U.S. media reports, air traffic controllers and airport security inspectors can only ¡°stress the belt¡± because they don¡¯t get their wages, and may even be engaged in ¡°secondary jobs.¡± Some employees said in media interviews that if Congress can¡¯t pass the provisional grant bill as soon as possible, many people will be forced to use savings, borrow credit card debts or work part-time to maintain their livelihoods.

Calls from all walks of life in the United States for ending the deadlock of the government's "shutdown" are getting louder and louder, but the Republican and * parties continue to accuse each other and "dump the pot", and have hardly conducted any substantive negotiations to find a way out to end the "shutdown". The Senate plans to vote on the provisional appropriations bill again this week, but the prospect of the bill passing is still not optimistic.