Aviation groups send letter to president, Congress on government shutdown

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Thirty-four aviation groups sent a letter last week to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, asking the leaders to take action to end the partial government shutdown.

The groups are concerned about the negative effects of the shutdown on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“This partial shutdown has already inflicted real damage to our nation’s aviation system, and the impacts will only worsen over time,” the letter said. “We urge you to act quickly to resolve these issues.”

Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection officers have been working without pay. This is causing financial hardships, the letter said, and also is causing safety to be impacted at airports.

FAA employees also are working without pay, and air traffic controllers in training have been furloughed.

Many other facets of FAA operation have been negatively impacted including certification and regulatory reform activities, new student pilot certificates, and the review and approval of applications for new or expanded airport facilities.

Civil aviation creates more than 11.5 million jobs, has a $1.5 trillion economic impact, and contributes more than 7 percent to the U.S. gross domestic product, the letter said.