Airport Alert: Government Shutdown: Expected Impacts on FAA, TSA, and CBP
September 30, 2025
Barring a last-minute and unlikely agreement between congressional leaders, the federal government is set to shut down at midnight, impacting the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A meeting at the White House yesterday failed to produce an agreement, increasing the likelihood that a shutdown will occur.
Based on previous shutdowns and plans released by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation, we have some insights into how a government shutdown will impact both departments. (DHS updated its shutdown plans on September 27. However DOT has yet to update its own shutdown plans, so we are relying on information the agency released in March when lawmakers avoided another shutdown threat.)
AAAE and a long list of stakeholders that participate in the Modern Skies Coalition sent a letter to House and Senate leaders yesterday urging them to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 and highlighting how a shutdown would impact the aviation system. The coalition pointed out that government shutdowns harm the U.S. economy, force the FAA to suspend air traffic controller and technician hiring, and result in furloughs for other FAA employees who support them.
Below is an overview of how we expect a government shutdown will impact the FAA, TSA, and CBP. We will keep you posted as more information and developments become available. In the meantime, please keep your lawmakers appraised on how a prolonged government shutdown would impact the aviation system and your airport.
Overview
FAA Activities That Will Likely Continue During a Shutdown
Controllers/Transportation Security Officers/CBP Officers: FAA air traffic controllers; transportation security officers; and CBP officers at ports of entry, including airports, are required to work without pay during government shutdowns. A 35-day shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019 ended after some FAA controllers did not show up to work, causing delays that reverberated throughout the NAS. (It is possible that the FAA may have limited resources to pay controllers for a very short time at the beginning of a shutdown.)
Controller Training: Based on DOT’s March shutdown plans, the FAA is expected to keep the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City open during a shutdown – a move that will allow the agency to continue training air traffic controllers. That would be helpful since the Academy was shuttered during previous shutdowns, slowing the hiring of controllers and creating an extended backlog.
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. Medical clearances for controllers are expected to continue during a government shutdown. But FCT contractors could experience other hiring delays since routine personnel security background investigations are expected to cease during a shutdown.
Counter UAS: DHS and DOJ’s ability to mitigate drone threats will not continue during a government shutdown because they expire at midnight. Those authorities were extended in all of the continuing resolutions being proposed.
Barring a last-minute and unlikely agreement between congressional leaders, the federal government is set to shut down at midnight, impacting the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A meeting at the White House yesterday failed to produce an agreement, increasing the likelihood that a shutdown will occur.
Based on previous shutdowns and plans released by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation, we have some insights into how a government shutdown will impact both departments. (DHS updated its shutdown plans on September 27. However DOT has yet to update its own shutdown plans, so we are relying on information the agency released in March when lawmakers avoided another shutdown threat.)
AAAE and a long list of stakeholders that participate in the Modern Skies Coalition sent a letter to House and Senate leaders yesterday urging them to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 and highlighting how a shutdown would impact the aviation system. The coalition pointed out that government shutdowns harm the U.S. economy, force the FAA to suspend air traffic controller and technician hiring, and result in furloughs for other FAA employees who support them.
Below is an overview of how we expect a government shutdown will impact the FAA, TSA, and CBP. We will keep you posted as more information and developments become available. In the meantime, please keep your lawmakers appraised on how a prolonged government shutdown would impact the aviation system and your airport.
Overview
FAA Activities That Will Likely Continue During a Shutdown
- ATC Services
- Maintenance and Operation of Navigation Aids and Other Facilities
- Flight Standards Field Inspections
- Airworthiness Directives
- Airmen Medical Certifications
- Certification Activities Including Controller Medical Clearances
- Hazmat Safety Inspections
- Support Functions Necessary to Provide Timely Payments to Contractors and Grantees
- Airport Inspections
- Existing Airport Development Grants
- PFC Approvals
- Airport Planning and Environmental Services Funded by AIP
- IIJA Activities
- Training at the Academy for New Air Traffic Controllers
TSA Activities That Will Continue During a Shutdown
- Activities Necessary by Law, the Constitution, Safety, Protection of Property
- Law Enforcement Operations
- Passenger Processing and Cargo Inspection at Airports and Ports of Entry
- Vetting and Adjudication Activities for Aviation Workers, TWIC Holders, etc.
- S. Secret Service Protective Functions
- Counter-Terrorism Watches and Intelligence Gathering and Dissemination
- Disaster Relief Fund Activities
- Fee-Funded Activitie
Controllers/Transportation Security Officers/CBP Officers: FAA air traffic controllers; transportation security officers; and CBP officers at ports of entry, including airports, are required to work without pay during government shutdowns. A 35-day shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019 ended after some FAA controllers did not show up to work, causing delays that reverberated throughout the NAS. (It is possible that the FAA may have limited resources to pay controllers for a very short time at the beginning of a shutdown.)
Controller Training: Based on DOT’s March shutdown plans, the FAA is expected to keep the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City open during a shutdown – a move that will allow the agency to continue training air traffic controllers. That would be helpful since the Academy was shuttered during previous shutdowns, slowing the hiring of controllers and creating an extended backlog.
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. Medical clearances for controllers are expected to continue during a government shutdown. But FCT contractors could experience other hiring delays since routine personnel security background investigations are expected to cease during a shutdown.
Counter UAS: DHS and DOJ’s ability to mitigate drone threats will not continue during a government shutdown because they expire at midnight. Those authorities were extended in all of the continuing resolutions being proposed.
