With the government shutdown threatening air travel, a GOP bill seeks to keep flights running

Federal shutdown layoffs could be in the 'thousands,' Leavitt says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt predicted ‘thousands’ of federal layoffs if the government shutdown continues and commented on the war in Ukraine.

EXCLUSIVE: As federal agencies hunker down for what could be a protracted government shutdown, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., is introducing a bill to make sure that Americans’ flights can continue on schedule no matter how long the closure lasts.

With the busiest time of the year for air travel quickly approaching and tens of millions of Americans expected to fly in the coming months, an extended government shutdown could have catastrophic impacts on flight safety as well as Americans’ travel plans.

To combat this, Bean introduced a bill, the "Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2025," which would ensure that America’s air traffic controllers and essential Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel continue to be paid, even during a shutdown.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Bean’s office called the bill a "preemptive strike against chaos in the control tower, ensuring that the backbone of our aviation system doesn’t buckle under political gridlock."

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Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., is introducing a bill to make sure essential FAA workers continue to be paid during government shutdowns, protecting against massive flight delays that have occurred in the past. (Getty Images)

The statement explained, "This isn’t just about paychecks. It’s about keeping our skies safe, our flights on time, and our economy airborne."

Air traffic controllers and other essential FAA personnel do not receive paychecks during government shutdowns despite being required to work to keep the nation’s flight schedules safe and on time. Though these federal workers are eventually paid when the government reopens, extended periods of time without a paycheck lead to stress on both the workers and the overall flight system.

In 2019, on the 35th day of a government shutdown, ten air traffic controllers called in sick in Virginia and Florida, triggering ground stops at LaGuardia Airport in New York and cascading delays at Newark, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Bean’s bill is aimed at making sure something like that does not happen again.

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Travelers check their phones while navigating delays and flight cancellations at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport July 19, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

If passed, the bill would make funds in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund not otherwise appropriated available for use to continue paying air traffic controllers and safety inspectors up to 30 days without Congress needing to act, according to a draft of the bill obtained by Fox News Digital. The funds used would then later be paid back by the official appropriation once it is passed by Congress.

By essentially borrowing funds from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is funded by airline ticket and fuel taxes and other taxes, the FAA and Americans’ air travel would be shielded from the brunt of a government shutdown.

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A Southwest plane lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., Dec. 30, 2022.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

"While Congress continues negotiations on funding the federal government, I hope we can all agree: The people who keep America’s skies running should be paid on time," Bean told Fox News Digital.

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"We can’t afford to let a government shutdown disrupt the backbone of our aviation system," he added. "That’s why I introduced legislation to ensure our air traffic controllers are paid, and the FAA operates with no interruptions. It’s about protecting public safety and standing up for the aviation professionals who keep our country moving."

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.