NATCA in the News: President Nick Daniels Calls for Government Shutdown to End at Press Event at Newark Airport

Oct 6, 2025

During a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Monday, Oct. 6, NATCA President Nick Daniels repeated our Union's position that the on-going government shutdown should end immediately.

Daniels stated, "Today, I am proud to speak on behalf of the dedicated American workers who operate our national airspace system and manage the safe travel of millions of passengers and tons of cargo through it every single day. I am here to advocate for an end to the shutdown. We need to bring this shutdown to a close so that the Federal Aviation Administration and the committed aviation safety professionals can put this distraction aside and focus completely on their vital work."

Daniels added that the government shutdown is an unnecessary distraction to Transportation Secretary Duffy's goals of accelerating the hiring and training of air traffic controllers and the modernization of the national air space system.

At this event, Daniels joined Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Acting Chief Operating Officer within the Air Traffic Organization Franklin McIntosh.

Watch Daniels' statement from the press conference: