![As the government shutdown continues, student pilots ask questions and think about still getting their certificates. [Shutterstock]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/shutterstock_1850554267.jpg?width=1200&height=800)
“Is it going to delay my check ride?”
“Is the tower going to close because of the shutdown?”
“Is my certificate going to be delayed?”
These are just some of the questions you may hear around the airport when there is a government shutdown. I sure have.
But this is not my first shutdown, and the answer to a great many of these questions is “let me check” as the situation is dynamic. What is correct today could be incorrect tomorrow and vice versa. However, part of being a pilot is developing the ability to search for information pertinent to your dynamic situation and apply it to the decision-making process.
A week before the shutdown, the Department of Transportation published a 33-page PDF that listed the impact of a government shutdown on several agencies, including the FAA.
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But questions arise when you access a government-sponsored website often used by pilots, Aviationweather.gov: “The U.S. government is closed. However, because the information this website provides is necessary to protect life and property, this site will be updated and maintained during the federal government shutdown.” Then it provides a website to learn more at commerce.gov/news/blog. B When you get there, you see a red banner across the top letting you know, “Due to a lapse in federal funding, this website is not being updated.”
A similar message appears when trying to access the DOT page: “Portions of the Department of Transportation are currently in shutdown/furlough status due to a lapse in appropriation. Please continue to monitor this page for updates on DOT’s operating status.”
Other pilots have reported delays in uploading NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) notices. The NOTAM page warns pilots: “This site is informational in nature and is designed to assist pilots and aircrews for flight planning and familiarization. It may be used in conjunction with other pre-flight information sources needed to satisfy all the requirements of 14 CFR 91.103 and is not to be considered as a sole source of information to meet all pre-flight action. Due to system processing delays, recently entered NOTAMs may not be displayed.”
It’s that last sentence that should be the most concerning. To my fellow CFIs, when reviewing the cross-country navlog of a student pilot, include the time and day of the weather and NOTAM check in the endorsement as a CYA: “Weather and NOTAMs checked as of 21:46 p.m. Zulu (insert date here).”
No Delay of Check Rides
The good news is that check rides are still happening.
DPEs are contractors working at the “convenience of the Administrator” and paid directly by the applicants, not by the FAA Administrator. Every year the FAA requires DPEs to sign a statement recognizing that serving as a DPE is a privilege and not a right, and the privilege can be terminated or revoked at any time for any reason the agency administrator deems appropriate.
That’s a bloodless way of saying DPEs are contractors.
Contract Airport Control Towers Stay Open
While there have been instances of airline delays caused by a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCs) because of workers calling in sick at FAA-operated towers, the towers are still open, and the ATCs are still working but are not being paid at this time.
There have been remarks in the national media about this potentially creating a safety issue, as ATCs are already stretched thin, working 10-hour days and six days a week. They are further distracted by the financial burden of wondering when they will see their next paycheck.
The good news is the shutdown is not directly affecting contract towers, because according to information published by the American Association of Airport Executives, “FAA Contract Tower Controllers: Like FAA controllers, FAA Contract Tower (FCT) controllers are required to work during a government shutdown. However, unlike their FAA counterparts, FCT controllers continue to get paid.”
Contract towers are usually part time., as indicated by an asterisk next to the tower frequency on the sectional that lets pilots know there is a limitation of the frequency—usually operating hours— and a review of the chart supplement reveals the hours of tower operation. The airport usually remains open although the tower closes. Pilots just adopt self-announce procedures that are used at nontowered facilities. You know, the ones we’re supposed to know because the majority of the airports in the United States do not have control towers. They don’t need them because they don’t have enough operations to warrant one. Pilots are responsible for see-and-avoid.
The shutdown will likely have a ripple effect on the hiring of new ATCs, as the government closure has put a stop to routine personnel security background investigations, a requirement for new controllers. If President Donald Trump follows through with the proposal to fire controllers who do not go to work, it could definitely impact the general aviation community.
Just ask a pilot who was around in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan fired some 11,000 controllers who were out on strike. The strike resulted in slowdowns and shutdowns as essential posts were manned by management. If airlines reduce the number of flights, that could mean they need fewer pilots, and at the GA level, CFIs will likely spend more time as instructors, and many may leave the industry for other careers.
In 2018 air traffic controllers were credited for ending a shutdown that lasted more than 30 days. Then, as now, ATCs were considered “essential” and forced to work without pay to protect life and property. On January 25, 2019, the 35th day of the shutdown, 10 aircraft air traffic controllers on the East Coast stayed home. Six were from northern Virginia and four from Florida. The result was a temporary shutdown at LaGuardia Airport (KLGA) in New York and a ripple effect of delays in multiple airline hub cities.
In a way, this situation might spark a new interest in people seeking flight training. All it takes for someone is sitting in a metal tube on the tarmac waiting several hours for takeoff to inspire them to pursue their own pilot certificate.
We will welcome them to the fold.
