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The Transportation Department announced Thursday night that it is cutting flights at 40 major airports through the FAA due to the still-unresolved federal government shutdown. Now the FAA will restrict general aviation operations and effectively prohibit business aviation at 12 of the busiest airports in the U.S.
The new restrictions will be issued as individual NOTAMS for each airport, according to the NBAA, with some exceptions made for based aircraft, emergency, medical, law-enforcement, firefighting and military operations. The NBAA warns that business operators should prepare for further delays and restrictions at any airport affected by the controller shortage or the emergency order.
The 12 airports include:
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
"Safety is the cornerstone of business aviation, and NBAA is fully committed to ensuring the safety of the NAS," said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. "Among the ways we will do that is to ensure business aviation operators have an understanding of these restrictions and their implications."
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"We are deeply sympathetic to the traveling public and the air traffic controllers who continue to work tirelessly under immense pressure without compensation," said AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance. "But general aviation is an essential part of our nation's transportation and economic fabric. This kind of blanket exclusion cannot become the norm."The Modern Skies Coalition is pushing for Congress to end the government shutdown and the restrictions it has caused. A bill was passed in the Senate on Sunday that completes the first step of reopening the government, reported NPR. It still needs to pass in the House of Representatives before the shutdown would end."It was certainly appropriate for the FAA to equitably reduce aircraft operations on all users of our nation's public-use aviation system due to the government shutdown," said Jim Coon, AOPA senior VP of Government Affairs and Advocacy. "However, the decision over the weekend to completely lock out all general and business aviation at a number of airports across the country is a disproportionate response. Any flight reductions should be based solely on ensuring safety and not for economic purposes."