General Discussion

DENVER — Denver International Airport is working to help federal employees who are working without pay during the government shutdown.

DIA said in a release on Wednesday that it has submitted a request to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asking whether airport revenue could be used to pay air traffic controllers. The airport said it has requested a waiver on any prohibition on utilizing its own revenue to support air traffic controllers and other federal employees as they conduct essential airport operations.

DIA said it will also request reimbursement from the federal government once the shutdown is over.

“This is a critical time for travel both here at DEN and around the country. Staffing issues are already being identified at a number of airports, impacting travel. As the shutdown drags on, air traffic controllers, in particular, are being stressed unnecessarily,” said Phil Washington, airport CEO. “As part of our airport family, it’s our hope that we can reduce the hardship on them by covering their wages during the shutdown, with reimbursement by the FAA later. We would love to be able to do more and provide wage support for all the federal workers at DEN, as they are all critical to our operation, but given the number of federal employees, we are only able to support controllers at this time.”