Washington, DC, January 21, 2018 – Today, National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President Martin H. Hiller joined the heads of other major general aviation associations in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao requesting the FAA’s Aircraft Registration Branch open for business as usual on Monday morning. Citing the importance of the registry’s activities to the general aviation community, Hiller and the other GA leaders also noted the Department’s already existing authority to open the Registry during the current shutdown.
“It’s ironic the one aspect of the government shutdown of most immediate concern to general aviation, the shuttering of the FAA’s aircraft registry, could have been avoided had House Republicans dropped its proposed ‘airlinization’ of air traffic control and approved the FAA authorization – a provision of which removes any possible confusion about the registry remaining open during these shutdowns,” stated Hiller.
The President and Congressional leadership continue to negotiate and the United States Senate scheduled another vote early Monday morning on reopening the federal government.