Aviation Groups Call on Congress To Avert Govt. Shutdown

Aviation groups have intensified their calls to lawmakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to avoid a government shutdown, sending leaders an urgent warning that halting federal operations at midnight would have many detrimental consequences.

“Government shutdowns harm the U.S. economy and degrade the redundancies and margins of safety that our National Airspace System (NAS) is built upon,” said a letter that 50 aviation stakeholders, unions, and trade groups collectively sent to House speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), as well as Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).

The groups reminded of efforts to “supercharge” air traffic controller hiring and expedite ATC system modernization. “A government shutdown at this stage would jeopardize the important progress that we all have made on these efforts thus far,” they said.

Although controllers, technicians, and other aviation safety professionals would be exempt from the shutdown, other FAA employees who support them would be furloughed, and controller hiring and training would be delayed, they added.

“Furthermore, shutdowns are both costly and harmful to our economy. The aviation industry in the U.S. contributes more than 5% to the gross domestic product, accounting for $1.37 trillion in 2023, while also helping to drive more than 10 million American jobs. Government shutdowns severely hinder this economic activity.”