NBAA Urges Congress to Avoid Government Shutdown, Echoes Modern Skies Coalition
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has joined in an urgent letter to leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The letter asks for compromise to prevent a shutdown of the federal government that would adversely impact the aviation sector, among many detrimental consequences.
Unless an agreement is reached on a short-term funding extension, many government agencies and operations would halt operations at midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
“Government shutdowns harm the U.S. economy and degrade the redundancies and margins of safety that our National Airspace System (NAS) is built upon,” read the letter.
The letter, signed by NBAA and 49 other aviation stakeholders, unions and trade groups, was sent to:
- House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-4-LA)
- Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-8-NY)
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
- Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
“Earlier this year, our community established the Modern Skies Coalition to wholeheartedly endorse Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy’s plans to ‘supercharge’ air traffic controller (ATC) hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and modernize the air traffic control system,” the letter continued.
“A government shutdown at this stage would jeopardize the important progress that we all have made on these efforts thus far,” it added.
A shutdown would also cause challenges like:
- Furlough of many FAA employees
- Suspension of hiring and training for air traffic controllers and technicians
- Halting of necessary system upgrades
- Delays in maintenance of critical ATC equipment and infrastructure
“Furthermore, shutdowns are both costly and harmful to our economy,” the letter said, “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.
“Congress must work quickly to avoid another harmful shutdown,” the groups concluded, “The FAA, its dedicated frontline workforce, our aviation community, our economy and the American public cannot afford a disruption, regardless of how long it lasts.”