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The United States government entered a partial shutdown on Saturday after Congress missed the funding deadline. Carriers like Airlines for America (A4A) have urged legislation to continue providing funding for the FAA to prevent another ATC shortage.
During the 43-day shutdown in 2025, air traffic controllers were expected to continue working without pay. Thousands of workers called in sick at that time, flights all across the country were delayed or canceled and 40 high-impact airports were ordered to reduce flight traffic by 10%. Some airports experienced ground stops on all flights due to the shortage of controllers, with some, such as Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), going hours without a controller in the tower.
"Congress knows firsthand the important role that ATC has in keeping our skies safe, and the FAA has noted that shutdowns now create safety issues that are simply not acceptable," said A4A in a statement. "The FAA's safety mission is too important to be subjected to an unpredictable and unstable process."
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The government likely won't reopen until at least Tuesday, according to CNN. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Consolidated Appropriations Act. If approved, the FAA would have a budget of $22.2 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion compared to 2025. Included in this boost is $235 million for the Air Traffic Organization, $824 million for FAA facilities and equipment and resources to hire 2,500 air traffic controllers. $368 million from the 2021 infrastructure law was also reallocated to the Airport Improvement Program. The House had approved the act before and it passed the Senate on Friday, according to Politico, but the upper chamber made changes to the measure and sent it back to the House.
The House Rules Committee will meet on Monday at 4 p.m. ET to begin consideration of the rule before sending it to the full chamber.