Claim:
In November 2025, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said, “Pilots need to stop depending on air traffic controllers. They need to suck it up and go with their gut feelings.”
Rating:
In November 2025, multiple posts circulated online (archived, archived, archived, archived) claiming U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “Pilots need to stop depending on air traffic controllers. They need to suck it up and go with their gut feelings.” The alleged quote circulated alongside an image of Duffy giving an interview on Fox News, implying he said it on air.
The alleged quote circulated as the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown led to the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flights at 40 major U.S. airports by 10% as a result of lost workforce, something the Department of Transportation deemed a “proactive” safety measure.
(X user @Colonel_Myway)
Dozens of Snopes readers also searched the site and emailed us seeking verification of the quote.
Many users in the comments of these posts appeared to believe their authenticity. However, the alleged quote was incorrectly attributed to Duffy, who never publicly made such a statement.
The image shared alongside the fake quote was authentic. It depicts an appearance Duffy made on Fox News on Aug. 14, 2025 (archived) — not during the shutdown (at approximately minute 8:48).
(foxbusiness.com)
The timestamp, stock data, and Duffy’s suit and tie all are identical to the image shared alongside the fabricated quote, and none of the posts circulated featured a video of Duffy speaking — only the image. Though the caption under the clip states “USDOT modernizing air traffic control systems,” users took this out of context. Duffy was not referring to an air traffic control system that would require pilots to “go with their gut feelings” as opposed to depending on air traffic controllers; rather, he was referring to upgrading U.S. air traffic control systems technology and training using funding from President Donald Trump’s budget bill.
A Google search of the quote resulted only in posts spreading the claim in question or articles debunking the quote. If a major U.S. official like Duffy had actually said those words, prominent news media outlets would have covered it.
(Google.com)
We reached out to the Department of Transportation seeking comment on the rumor via phone and email, but were not immediately able to reach a spokesperson. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Just days before the fake quote began spreading online, Duffy warned of imminent “chaos in the skies” if the shutdown — which began after Democrats seeking a reversal of Trump’s Medicaid cuts among other demands blocked a Republican bill to temporarily fund the goverment — continued. He said:
If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays. You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers.
In sum, there was no evidence Duffy publicly said pilots needed to learn to “go with their gut feelings” rather than depend on air traffic controllers. While Duffy made numerous comments regarding the pressure the aviation industry was facing as a result of an insufficient number of air traffic controllers during the 2025 government shutdown, he did not say the words in question. The image circulated alongside the fake quote was authentic, though taken out of context from an August 2025 Fox News interview.
Sources
GovFacts. ‘Why the FAA Ordered a 10% Flight Reduction’. GovFacts, 6 Nov. 2025, https://govfacts.org/explainer/why-the-faa-ordered-a-10-flight-reduction/.
Mion, Landon. ‘Airlines Work to Limit Impact as FAA Cuts Air Traffic by 10% across 40 Markets amid Shutdown’. Text.Article. FOXBusiness, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-travel/airlines-mitigate-impact-faa-cut-air-traffic-10-across-40-high-volume-markets-amid-government-shutdown.
PerryCook, Taija. ‘2025 Government Shutdown: 16 Claims We’ve Checked’. Snopes, 10 Nov. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//collections/2025-government-shutdown-collection/.
‘Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Warns of “mass Chaos” in Skies If Shutdown Continues’. AP News, 4 Nov. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-air-traffic-controllers-duffy-delays-9afedfa9e5000510c77465808404c830.
‘US Shutdown: Trump Administration to Cut Flight Capacity by 10% across 40 “High-Volume” Markets’. The Times of India, 6 Nov. 2025. The Economic Times – The Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-shutdown-trump-administration-to-cut-flight-capacity-by-10-across-40-high-volume-markets/articleshow/125120184.cms.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy & FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford Outline Series of Proactive Actions to Maintain Safety in the National Air Space | Federal Aviation Administration. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/us-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-faa-administrator-bryan-bedford-outline-series. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
‘What Happens Now That a Government Shutdown Is Underway’. AP News, 30 Sept. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-chuck-schumer-20e54a0f5e4fee909d0f9ea2c07c15e1.
