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Daytona 500 visitors could run into problems if the government shutdown continues

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Every February brings its own kind of Super Bowl to Daytona Beach: The roar of the engines (and crowds) at the Daytona 500.

This year, the race falls on Sunday, February 17. It’s the weekend that puts Daytona Beach International Airport to the test on a normal year – but this year could be different.

Air traffic controllers at the airport are at the mercy of the ongoing partial government shutdown. Many air traffic controllers are furloughed and can’t come to work. Others, the ones considered “essential personnel,” are working but without pay.

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When the government shut down, so did the airport’s preparation for the Daytona 500.

"We change all of our procedures from what we do the other 364 days a year to support this race,” said Daytona Beach air traffic controller union president Michael Driscoll. “It's kind of our Super Bowl."

Driscoll worries the air traffic control tower may not be fully prepared in time for the green flag.

“The levels of redundancy have been peeled away. Our support people are not here. It’s almost like asking surgeons to perform surgery without their nurses and surgery techs in the room,” Driscoll said.

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In addition to crowds, the Daytona 500 brings Thunderbird fighter jets, heavy cargo planes, and hundreds of private jets that have to be lined up and stored away on the property during the race. And everyone will want to leave at the same time.

“When the race is over, time is money and they’ve all got to go,” said Driscoll, who added that everyone’s routes have to be perfectly mapped out to prevent a traffic jam.

“It just increases the risk. The chance of something going wrong,” Driscoll said. “In this profession, if something goes wrong, there could be a tragedy.”

The government shutdown also came right in the middle of an airport renovation project, which means employees who haven’t been furloughed have been using a bathroom in an outside trailer for a month.

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