ALPA president Capt. Joe DePete addressing the crowd at the NATCA rally on January 10. (Photo courtesy NATCA.)

Yesterday, ALPA president Capt. Joe DePete joined with other aviation industry leaders at a rally sponsored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) near the U.S. Capitol. Addressing the crowd, DePete stated, “Because of this shutdown, the FAA has fewer resources available that are needed to ensure the national airspace system is performing at peak levels, and aircraft manufacturing oversight duties have either been stopped or significantly reduced. This is unacceptable!”

ALPA, along with 33 other unions and organizations, sent a letter yesterday to President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging them “to act now to prevent the negative impacts currently being experienced by the U.S. aviation industry that supports the traveling and shipping public.”

Today, at Washington Reagan National Airport, Capt. DePete was on hand to offer lunch to air traffic controllers and safety specialists who received their first $0.00 “paycheck,” despite still performing their essential duties.

“These folks are literally ‘shepherds in the sky,’ and they do an outstanding job keeping us safe and secure in the air,” DePete remarked. “The least we can do is provide this token of our gratitude for staying on the job despite the situation.”

View photos from the rally and NATCA/PASS luncheon at DCA.