United Airlines CEO warns against prolonged shutdown

united airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the federal government shutdown could hit reserves if it continues.

Despite the funding stagnation, essential federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration officials and air traffic controllers, must work without pay. The shutdown began on October 1 when Congress failed to pass a funding bill.

In an earnings conference call Thursday, Kirby said the shutdown has so far not affected the airline's business.

“I think at least for the first few weeks, people thought it was going to be resolved, so they carried on with business as usual,” he said. “But as time goes on, people read the headlines and say, 'This isn't going to be solved anytime soon.' People are starting to lose confidence in the government and their ability to solve this. And that's going to start to affect reserves.”

Kirby said there is no exact limit to when the airline might start to see an impact, but added that “with each passing day, the risk to the U.S. economy grows. So I hope we avoid an unforced error here.”

Delta Airlines Last week, CEO Ed Bastian issued a similar warning about how an extended shutdown could impact air travel, but stressed that the airline's operations had not been affected.

The closure has raised concerns about already low staffing among air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Last week, staffing shortages at some FAA facilities disrupted flights at airports, including those in Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California.

Members of the union representing U.S. air traffic controllers handed out leaflets Tuesday outside New York's LaGuardia Airport, as well as in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, urging the public to ask lawmakers to end the shutdown.

A more than month-long shutdown that began in late 2018 ended hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers crippled air travel in the New York area.