Impact of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown on Aviation Businesses BY COLIN BANE W hen it became clear that a partial government shutdown was imminent at the end of December 2018, Jet Logistics’ President, Ashley Smith, and his team mobilized on behalf of one very important cus- tomer. Smith’s company manages aviation logistics for the Indiana Donor Network, a nonprofit Organ Procurement Organization, and had just taken delivery of two brand-new Citation CJ3+ jets from Cessna, meant to replace two aging aircraft for the organization. “This was a very odd situation because the two aircraft had a total of 15 hours or so of flying on them, so the confor- mity process should have been a piece of cake,” Smith said. “We had all the conformity paperwork on the FAA’s desk on December 20, two days prior to the shutdown, thinking we’d get a quick approval, given the mission-critical nature of our client… then came the shutdown.” The United States federal government shutdown of 2018- 2019 lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018 until January 25, 2019, making it the longest U.S. Government shutdown in history. “Government shutdowns have consequences and I think the stakes are sometimes higher than voters or politicians— or even presidents—sometimes realize,” Smith said. “In the case of the Indiana Donor Network, we’re talking about an organization that saves a life or multiple lives every time they fly. The stakes couldn’t be any higher. Every time they fly, somebody gets a heart, a liver, a pancreas… that’s all these air- craft do, is fly surgical teams and donated organs when there isn’t an hour or minute or second to spare, much less 35 days or more. And here we have two brand new aircraft for them, grounded. In the middle of it all, we’re hearing the President talk about how the shutdown might go on indefinitely! You can imagine the level of frustration all around.” The Indiana Donor Network is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization contracted by the U.S. Federal Government to operate the nation’s organ donation system. But, as Smith learned, a shutdown is a shutdown. He tried everything from reach- ing out to his longtime contacts at the FAA to calling his Senator, Richard Burr (R-NC). The Indiana Donor Network also got representatives and senators from Indiana on the case, and the organization’s plea made it all the way to Vice President Mike Pence, the former governor of Indiana. Aviation Business Journal | Spring 2019 “The answer was the same,” Smith said. “Everyone’s hands were tied, even after some of our contacts at the FAA were back to work four or five days before the shutdown came to an end: they had these people come back without pay but then gave them no authority to do anything! It was a difficult position to be in because we all have good working relationships with FAA employees and here we were all in an awkward spot. I felt bad having to call and ask, ‘Hey, can you do this?’ and they felt bad having to say ‘No.’ To me, it illus- trates the FAA, or at least certain FAA functions and employ- ees, need to be exempt from a government shutdown. There are certain aviation functions which are critical. Whether or not an emergency medical provider like Indiana Donor Network can go and save a life because two new aircraft are waiting to get on ops specs—that’s pretty important. I can’t think of anything more important than saving lives.” Smith’s woes didn’t end with the end of the shutdown, either: he wasn’t able to get the two aircraft cleared by the FAA until mid-February. “Apparently, we made somebody really mad by pulling on every string we could think to pull during the shutdown because even after it was over, they were slow-walking every- thing, sending us all kinds of requests for information on the aircraft that nobody had ever asked us for before,” Smith said. “To stay apolitical and not take sides on it—I don’t care if you’re a Republican or Democrat—the shutdown didn’t accom- plish anything at all for either party. Instead, it cost businesses a lot of money and had a negative impact in lots of ways.” On January 10, 2019, in the middle of the shutdown, NATA joined a group of 34 aviation industry groups and unions in urging the federal government to end the partial government shutdown via a letter addressed to President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The letter specifically addressed new aircraft certification and authorization, along with a list of a dozen areas of concern, including FAA staff- ing, Air Traffic Control training, and issuing new student pilot certificates. “It’s not unusual for us to band together with other trade organizations in the aviation industry like that, but this one speaks to how extraordinary the circumstances were in that Continued on page 74 73
