Shutdown 5th week: air transport workers warn 'system will break'

Air transport workers warned the five-week-old US government shutdown could cause US commercial aviation to collapse as they planned a protest Thursday in the US capital's Reagan Washington National Airport.

"We have a growing concern for the safety and security of our members, our airlines, and the travelling public due to the government shutdown," leaders of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Air Line Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants said in a strong statement.

"In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break.

It is unprecedented," they said.

With a divided Congress expected to prove unable to pass either of two bills aimed at ending the shutdown in votes scheduled Thursday, the three unions noted that air traffic controllers, transportation security officers, safety inspectors and air marshals have all been working for over a month without pay.

"Staffing in our air traffic control facilities is already at a 30-year low and controllers are only able to maintain the system's efficiency and capacity by working overtime."