Fact Check: Did Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy say pilots don’t need air traffic controllers?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has been circulating on social media alleging that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told pilots that they no longer need air-traffic controllers and instead should trust their gut feelings.

The viral posts, which were accompanied by an apparent screenshot from a Fox Business show, quickly spread on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Threads, drawing criticisms and skepticism about whether Duffy really made such a claim. Let's find out if there's any truth to it. 

Claim: Sean Duffy said pilots need to stop depending on air traffic controllers

The claim appeared in posts on several social platforms on November 8 with the caption, “BREAKING FOX NEWS: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy goes on the record: 'Pilots need to stop depending on air traffic controllers. They need to suck it up and go with their gut feelings.’"

The claim surfaced as the FAA directed airlines to reduce flights amid air traffic control and TSA staffing shortages during the sixth week of the ongoing government shutdown. 

Fact Check: No video of Sean Duffy making such a claim exists

None of the posts included a video of Sean Duffy making the statement. Instead, each post featured a screenshot of Duffy's August 14, 2025, interview on Fox Business. 

There is no video, documentation, or reporting to support the claim made by Duffy, but such a controversial statement would have drawn widespread attention.

A Google search conducted at the time of writing found no actual reporting that Duffy made the controversial statement.

In the interview, Duffy never made a statement about the staffing shortage or the government shutdown, which had not yet begun at that time, proving the claim to be false. 

As the caption of the video shows, he was discussing his views that the US needs to establish a moon base in preparation for a future space war.

A snapshot from that segment, which appears almost identical to the one circulating in the post, shows him wearing the same suit and tie, and the screen graphics display the same stock market numbers and time stamp. 

Sean Duffy's plans for the space race

Sean Duffy, who is also NASA’s acting administrator, said that the US is in a race with China to get to the Moon and outlined plans for the agency's first crewed lunar flyby in over fifty years. 

In an interview on the 'Shawn Ryan Show' earlier this week, the transportation secretary described NASA’s Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch as early as February 2026, as a gateway for a permanent presence on Earth’s neighbor, driven by geopolitical rivalry.  

“Should we cede the moon to the Chinese, and are there any national security risks to that?” Duffy said, “I don't really want to find that out.”