Air traffic controllers are taking side gigs amid government shutdown

Four days into the government shutdown, Jack Criss, an air traffic control specialist at Andrews Air Force Base, assumed a second role — driving for DoorDash.

Four days into the government shutdown, Jack Criss, an air traffic control specialist at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, assumed a second role — driving for DoorDash.

“My financial obligations were mounting. I wanted to get ahead of the situation. The writing was on the wall,” Criss told NBC News.

That financial pressure is only expected to grow Friday, when Criss and other air traffic controllers are set to miss their first biweekly paycheck for work performed during what is now the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. The expected $0 checks, to be delivered by Oct. 28, follow a check that paid only 90% of their total pay, reflecting work mostly done in September.

While back pay has been promised, thanks to a 2018 law that requires compensation for workers who work during a shutdown, current and former air traffic controllers told NBC News they are more concerned about long-standing issues, including controllers being overworked amid staffing shortages.

As essential workers, air traffic controllers are required to work without pay during a government shutdown. But the possibility of a dragging shutdown — and more missed paychecks — after Congress on Wednesday rejected a bill to reopen the government for the 12th time has officials calling for a swift solution.