CNN
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The US aviation system is bracing for two simultaneous disruptions at the end of this week – a looming government shutdown and the expiration of a key aviation law.

Officials say the double-barrel threat would result in millions of dollars in losses daily, scramble efforts to rebuild the air traffic control system, set back technology improvements and further strain the already-stressed aviation system that suffered a series of runway close calls this year.

Rep. Steve Cohen, the top Democrat on the House Aviation subcommittee, warned Wednesday the shutdown may mean “cancellations at airports will occur, and it will negatively impact the flying public.”

Government officials are particularly concerned about how a shutdown would disrupt the air traffic control training pipeline, which is still recovering after the Federal Aviation Administration closed its controller academy at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Intensive training takes years and would pause during a government shutdown. Delaying the current crop of students could create a backlog for the next round of new hires.

“The complexity of the hiring and training process means even a shutdown lasting a few days could mean we will not hit our staffing and hiring targets next year,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday. “There is no good time for a government shutdown. But this is a particularly bad time for a government shutdown.”

The shutdown would also put strain on the Transportation Security Administration. Nearly all – 58,000 – of the agency’s 61,000 employees would continue to report to work, including those screening airplane passengers. But they would do so without getting paid.

A shutdown could cost the travel industry $140 million daily, according to an estimate from the US Travel Association, which analyzed industry losses from a major government shutdown several years ago. That includes direct losses from government officials foregoing travel, but also canceled trips as attractions like national parks close.

The second threat
There is also concern that the Saturday expiration of a dense set of policy instructions will leave the FAA unable to conduct important business.

The law gives the agency permission to collect fees and taxes – including on airline flights and airplane fuel – and sets the boundaries for spending that money. If the law expires at the end of September without renewal, the FAA will be able to neither collect nor spend.

“It’s kind of like a tax holiday for airline charges that never come in,” Buttigieg said.

That would cost the FAA trust fund about $54 million every day, the agency told CNN – funds for airport infrastructure projects and improving FAA technology.