Trump's Answer On The Plane When Asked US Air Traffic Control Salaries Affected By Shutdown

President Donald Trump headed for the US Air Force One presidential plane at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Wednesday, September 19, 2018 (doc the White House-Shealah Craighead-Wikipedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Air Traffic Controller (ATC) officers who regulate air traffic in the US are affected by the government's closure or shutdown.

So how is the air traffic performance in the US?

ATC officers are known to work to guide pilots, starting from providing instructions when planes take off to providing information on travel routes that must be obeyed by aircraft in order to avoid air accidents.

Citing ABC News, Trump aboard the US presidential plane Air Force One on his way to Japan from Malaysia on Monday 27 October said the US government's shutdown affected the reduced US air traffic controllers.

The shutdown also had an impact on salaries from US air traffic control employees.

Still above Air Force One, Trump was then asked by reporters whether the salaries of the officers were paid in a US shutdown situation, Trump said "Yes, there is".

However, Trump declined to elaborate further on what scheme the officers paid for.

Trump actually accused the Democratic Party of being the culprit for the US government's shutdown. He also blamed the Democratic Party for finding sustainable solutions to fund the performances of government employees, including US air traffic controllers.

"The Democratic Party can solve problems related to air traffic control," Trump said on the occasion.

"They just need to say, 'This country is open'. We only need five votes. Republicans support us. We only need five votes. So let's see what happens," he continued.

"I think it will be handled, not only the controllers, but also other people," Trump added.

Monday 27 October is the 27th day of the US government's shutdown. This shutdown is the second-longest government shutdown in US history.

Previously, the longest US government shutdown occurred during President Donald Trump's first term, which lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.