Trump Warns Air Traffic Controllers to Work or Get ‘Docked’

Workers in the United Airlines Station Operation Center at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.
Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

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By Skylar Woodhouse and Hadriana Lowenkron

November 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM UTC

Updated on

November 11, 2025 at 12:24 AM UTC

President Donald Trump urged air traffic controllers who have missed work during the government shutdown to return to their posts, threatening to withhold pay for those who do not show up as travelers in the US face flight delays and cancellations.

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,’” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.