CRS Report Reviews How Federal Shutdowns Disrupted Civil Aviation, With Four Recent Lapses Examined

A Congressional Research Service report examines the effects of federal government shutdowns on civil aviation. It explains that a funding gap occurs when full-year or interim appropriations expire without new funding, and that the government generally begins a shutdown of affected activities if funding does not resume in time. Shutdowns can be government-wide or partial, depending on which appropriations lapse. FAA activities are funded under Department of Transportation appropriations, while Transportation Security Administration aviation security functions are funded under Department of Homeland Security appropriations.

The report says federal workers who perform functions integral to civil aviation, such as FAA air traffic controllers and systems technicians and TSA screeners, are generally excepted from furlough but typically are not paid during a shutdown. This has had demonstrated effects on absenteeism and resignations, potentially affecting the government's ability to provide full aviation services without disruption. Quantifiable indicators of impact include increased flight delays and cancellations, longer wait times at airport security checkpoints, and temporary FAA-mandated flight reductions at major U.S. airports.

Twenty-three lapses in appropriations occurred between FY1977 and FY2026. The report examines four recent shutdowns. The 2018-2019 partial shutdown began at midnight on December 21, 2018, and lasted 34 days until a continuing resolution (P.L. 116-5) was signed on January 25, 2019. The government-wide shutdown beginning October 1, 2025, lasted 43 days until P.L. 119-37 was signed on November 12, 2025, and is described as the longest government-wide shutdown in U.S. history. A partial shutdown ran from January 31 through February 3, 2026, and a further partial shutdown affected DHS.

The report also reviews legislative options. Bills in the 119th Congress would use continuing appropriations to pay essential workers, or essential FAA and TSA personnel, during shutdowns, and others would create automatic continuing resolutions as a fallback funding source for core aviation safety operations. The Pay TSA Act of 2026 (H.R. 7941) would create a dedicated trust fund financed by passenger security fees and available during a lapse in appropriations, prioritizing TSA screener salaries, benefits and overtime, and staffing at security checkpoints.

Separately, the FAA's Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) fact sheet states the agency aims to deliver a new air traffic control system by the end of 2028, replacing radar, software, hardware and telecommunications infrastructure. The FAA says flight-delay minutes due to equipment issues in 2025 were about 300 percent higher than the 2010-2024 average. It reports that Congress, through the One Big Beautiful Bill, provided a $12.5 billion investment, with about $20 billion in additional funding needed to complete the program.

The structure the report describes places a recurring operational risk on every segment that depends on federal aviation services. Controllers and screeners keep working but go unpaid, so the pressure shows up through absenteeism and resignations rather than through a formal halt. For charter, fractional and corporate operators, that translates into delay and capacity exposure that is hard to price in advance and sits outside any single operator's control.

The four lapses examined, ranging from 34 to 43 days at the longest, show that the disruption scales with duration. Short partial lapses are mostly a screening and staffing question, while a long government-wide lapse reaches air traffic services directly, including temporary FAA-mandated flight reductions at major airports. Business aviation, which relies on the same airspace and the same controller workforce, shares that exposure even though most of the public attention falls on airline schedules and checkpoint queues.

The legislative proposals matter because they would change who bears the cost of a funding gap. A trust fund financed by passenger security fees, or an automatic continuing resolution for core safety operations, would decouple pay for essential staff from annual appropriations. Whether any of these bills advance is the open item. Separately, the FAA's stated 2028 target for its new air traffic control system, with about $20 billion in additional funding still needed, ties modernization progress to the same congressional funding process.