AOPA says restrictions on general aviation aircraft at 12 major airports violate a fundamental tenet of airspace management and such exclusions “cannot become the norm.” In a statement issued Monday, AOPA said it understood the need for the FAA to cut the number of flights in the face of stress on the air traffic control system, but it rejected singling out GA in what it termed an “outright ban” on most operations at those fields. “Our National Airspace System has always thrived on fair and equitable access. Banning general aviation operations—even at a small number of airports—sets a horrible precedent,” said AOPA’s SVP of Government Affairs Jim Coon. “General aviation is just as critical to our nation’s infrastructure as commercial operations and should not be penalized in this way.”
AOPA is also one of 55 aviation organizations that penned an open letter to Congress in the Washington Post urging an immediate end to the shutdown and to get paychecks to affected government employees. The Modern Skies Coalition was formed earlier this year to promote modernization of the air traffic control system after the midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet that killed 67 people in Washington. The government has allocated $12 billion for modernization, and Congress is mulling another $19 billion to bring the system up to date. “The government shutdown has disrupted that work and slowed the strong momentum we have built for modernization,” the letter said. It also called on Congress to get back pay in the hands of thousands of government employees who kept the system going without pay for more than a month. “We owe public servants at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies supporting aviation, like the National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, a debt of gratitude and a swift ending to this shutdown.”
Flying has broken into several economic classification: Commercial Passenger Traffic, Private Charter, Private Jet/Twin Turbo Ownership, and finally various layers of private airplanes from Twins/turbos down to affordable J3s and 152s. We can not let this stratification of money influence our airspace. Even this rule is going to hit the high end of ownership of private jets/twin turbos and possible cargo. Its bad enough the small airfields are catering to the rich leaving the little guys out with no where to fly. 🙁
What’s the critical resource here? It’s not airspace or runway/gate real-estate or aircraft or pilots. So why doesn’t NATCA announce a one-day “safety stand-down” for two weeks from today? Perhaps the blow-back from citizens would persuade those running the country to divert a few shekels from a gilded dance hall, to keeping our NAS safe. Why can’t we make the job of separating aluminum at least as attractive as stock-trading?
“What’s the critical resource here?”
Controller staffing, caused as a result of insufficient funding due to political gamesmanship.
The gilded dance hall is totally privately funded and has nothing to do with government spending. Are you lobbing for private ownership of the ATC system?
There is no free lunch. Those donors will receive benefits for their donation.
Aviation has to stay funded, staffed, and moving. 43 days without funding and the system is bleeding. The FAA runs on about $19 billion a year, yet the shutdown has already cost aviation roughly $6 billion in downstream losses across airlines, airports, fuel, hotels, and local revenue. Nearly one-third of that budget has evaporated from the wider economy while the funds meant to run it sit locked in Washington.
The FAA cut 10% of flights to stretch a controller force already 3,500 short, bleeding $97 million a day before secondary losses. GA is boxed in, airlines are trimming routes, and small fields are close to losing service.
Both sides know the numbers and keep playing politics. The truth is buried under speeches and campaign noise while aviation takes the hit. This isn’t about policy anymore; it’s about power and positioning.
$19 billion sits frozen on paper while $6 billion drains from the economy. That’s not leadership, it’s reckless politics with other people’s paychecks.
Tell it to Chuck Schumer
According to Pew Research (October 2025), 64% of Americans said both parties share the blame for the shutdown, and fewer than 25% thought a shutdown was a smart political move.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey in November showed 58% blamed House Republicans, 18% pointed at Senate Democrats, and 24% said they’re all guilty. AP News and CNN Business reported growing frustration as the FAA cut 10% of flights.
A Gallup poll that same week showed Congress hitting its lowest approval since 2019, with more voters shifting to independent status.
Bottom line: the public’s fed up. They see this not as right versus left, but as leadership failure across the board. While Washington argues, people are watching missed paychecks, canceled flights, and an aviation system trying to hold the line without the support it needs.
“A fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Ollie.”
A pox on both their houses!