It’s a double-whammy for the FAA. As Congress seems no closer to a deal that will avert a government shutdown within the U.S., an FAA Reauthorization package – the tax bill that funds the FAA – has also stalled for too long within the Senate.
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The 5 yr FAA Reauthorization Bill of 2018 runs out on September 30. Now, the Senate has linked a 3 month extension of FAA Reauthorization to a package that will avert a government shutdown: one which is unlikely to pass within the House. The Home is working on a separate package which could extend FAA Reauthorization. (And it goes without saying that confirming a everlasting leader on the FAA – the present nominee is former FAA deputy Mike Whitaker – isn’t happening immediately.)
If all efforts to increase the funding of the FAA and/or avert a government shutdown fail before midnight tomorrow – they usually may – what happens then?
Essential Employees Will Work Without Pay: Everyone Else Gets Furloughed
The first responsibility of the FAA is to maintain the air traffic in america running safely. To that end, essential employees reminiscent of air traffic controllers will still have to point out up for work – but they’ll be unpaid, a situation devastating for families and guaranteed to cause problems. Air traffic control trainees might be sent home. TSA agents are goverment employees and if the federal government shuts down, they will even be required to work without pay. Throughout the government shutdown of 2018-19, critical staff eventually stopped showing up for work, causing major delays at airports.
Non-essential staff on the FAA might be furloughed. If the FAA authorization runs out coincidentally with a government shutdown, greater than 17,000 staff could be furloughed, the Washington Post reports.
For the drone industry, that would mean that the already stretched team that works with the industry to grant waivers, authorizations, and move complex operations forward is not going to be available. Will advanced aviation be considered essential when the shutdown comes?
Taxes, Funding, Training, and More
Along with the devastating effect that effectively closing critical federal functions can have on your complete aviation ecosystem, the lapse in FAA authorization will mean that the agency cannot collect taxes: the ticket tax, gas tax, international travel tax, etc – that are estimated at almost $140 million per day. Airport improvements stop. Training of recent employees – a giant push for the FAA, facing a shortage of air traffic controllers – also stops. The rippling effects of an FAA lapse in authorization are huge: combined with a government shutdown, the results could last long after the present spat in Congress is resolved.
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