Government Shutdown Causing Crisis in the Aviation Industry

As the partial government shutdown that began on December 22 enters its second month, aviation industry leaders are warning that the negative impacts from the political fight over money for a border wall could be severe, affecting everything from new aircraft development and avionics certifications to aircraft deliveries and even pilot training.

Aircraft manufacturers have been forced to stop development of new aircraft and technologies because key FAA personnel are unable to issue aircraft certification and validation approvals, said the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, which represents OEMs. For every week the shutdown drags on, the aviation industry will likely feel the impact for several additional weeks.

“The impact of this shutdown is real and growing on the general aviation manufacturing and maintenance industry,” GAMA said in a statement. “Even if the shutdown ends soon, it will likely take months for our industry to recover from the delays caused by the shutdown." Given that FAA resources are tightly scheduled and planned, "any movement from that schedule causes a cascading of delays through the aviation system and certification timelines.”

GAMA said it is also beginning to receive initial reports of potential layoffs, particularly among smaller aviation businesses. “Our member companies have shared there are significant economic impacts from this shutdown on their businesses, and the overall industry and economy, that will grow each day the shutdown continues,” the association warned.

Despite some FAA personnel being recalled, most of the FAA staff who certify the safety of aircraft are still furloughed. “This,” said GAMA, “halts the review of design approvals, development of new or revised policy/guidance, and approval of issue papers that are critical to aircraft and other product certification.”

Additionally, authorizations required to operate aircraft after delivery cannot be issued. As a result, the lapse in FAA funding is impacting aircraft deliveries.

“GAMA companies estimate that under the best of circumstances, there will be a three-to-four-week impact on certification programs for every week of the shutdown,” GAMA said.

Other parts of the industry are feeling the effects of the shutdown as well. The FAA is unable to approve training manual revisions, cannot authorize training center evaluators, and will not be able to re-certify flight simulators. Without these approvals, training centers are no longer able to provide new or recurrent pilot training. The FAA also cannot inspect or certify repair station certificates for initial issuance, transfer or approval for changes. Without these approvals and certifications, repair stations are not able to fully operate, GAMA noted. The FAA is also prevented from processing non-routine aircraft registrations because its lawyers have been furloughed.

President Donald Trump and many Republicans are insisting that a bill to reopen the government include money for a border wall. Democrats say that won’t happen. The fear in the aviation industry is that if the shutdown continues for months, or even years, as the president has speculated, it could cause permanent damage across the industry as companies are unable to certify new products, pilots can’t undergo recurrent training, workers are laid off and air traffic controllers quit their jobs to find work that will deliver a paycheck.