The partial government shutdown, now reaching almost one month, is hitting the aviation industry hard. Air traffic controllers, considered “essential” employees, have been on the job - but without pay.
One NATA member company has two aircraft stranded in Canada as a result of the shutdown. The newly purchased planes were being painted and need a special FAA approval before they can be flown back to the US. The halting of FAA knowledge testing and check rides is creating scheduling issues and delays for certain organizations. Training center evaluators’ qualifications are expiring and there is a backlog of qualifications for flight simulators.
The aviation industry is one of the industries hardest hit by the shutdown, as stopped work on:
- new aircraft certification,
- interactions between FAA and other nations
- some aircraft registrations
- commercial drone flight authorizations
- aircraft mechanic licenses
- introduction of new air traffic technology
- airport construction approvals
Agencies, such as the FAA, are required under law to cease non-essential operations and cannot act while there is a lapse in funding. When funding does resume, and the shutdown ends, all non-essential operations will restart, creating a backlog of work that will take months to catch up.
This is just an excerpt of the many issues that plague US aviation now, read the long list in this article:
https://generalaviationnews.com/2019/01/16/aviation-hit-hardest-by-government-shutdown/
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