Ed Bolen, CEO and President of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has released a statement welcoming the end of the U.S. Government shutdown over the last few weeks, following President Obama’s signing of the agreement to address the debt ceiling.
Although it is acknowledged that it will take some time before the FAA services are fully ‘up and running’ again, the move heaves a collective sigh of relief throughout the industry. The affects of the shutdown have been far-reaching and devastating for business aviation and the NBAA has worked long and hard to find a way forward.
“For the past 17 days, the federal government has been shut down, and the consequences for business aviation have been devastating. Throughout this period, NBAA has tirelessly urged policymakers from every point on the political spectrum, both sides of Capitol Hill and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to find some way forward. We welcome this agreement for ending the shutdown, because it brings a resolution to an untenable situation,” said Mr Bolen.
Mr Bolen also remarked that the NBAA need to monitor developments as there is a distinct possibility that the same circumstances could arise again, that led to the shutdown. The industry will be kept informed, he promised.
“As always, we will need to remain vigilant, and our industry will need to be ready to mobilize, just as the business aviation community did when the devastating impacts of this shutdown became clear.”
Many crucial services were suspended during the shutdown, including the purchase and sale, import and exports and maintenance of aircraft as the FAA’s US Aircraft Registry was directly affected.