FAA $12B Budget Passes as Govt Ends Partial Shutdown

The House today voted 217 to 214 in favor of a five-bill appropriations package that would fund most of the federal government—including a $22.2 billion FAA budget—ending a partial shutdown that began on January 31. Coming after funding lapsed for the majority of the government on Saturday under a stopgap measure passed in November, the shutdown was the second in the past four months, with the last one that began on October 1 setting a record for length at 43 days.

Congress had reached an agreement on a comprehensive funding package in advance of the January 30 deadline, but that fell apart after shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis. Lawmakers last week scrambled to assemble a package that includes several agencies without the Department of Homeland Security. It further included a two-week extension of DHS funding to provide time for ICE reform negotiations. The Senate passed the latest version on Friday.

The FAA, meanwhile, was forced to temporarily furlough 10,552 workers, with another 44,625 remaining active, including the nearly 14,000 air traffic controllers who were to work, once again, without pay, according to the Department of Transportation plan. Furloughs primarily affected functions such as aviation rulemaking, routine security background checks, non-safety personnel random drug testing, law enforcement assistance support, and capital and operations planning, among others.

As for the FAA budget, the funding package provides a $1.22 billion increase over fiscal year 2025 levels, including an additional $235 million for the Air Traffic Organization and $824 million for FAA facilities and equipment. The bill sets aside $10.341 billion for air traffic control operations-related functions, including funding for the FAA to hire 2,500 air traffic controllers.

In all, the FAA’s operations budget was set at $13.7 billion, $13 billion of which is to be paid through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. The facilities and equipment account, meanwhile, would receive $4 billion.