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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily banned general aviation operations and nonscheduled aircraft flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), as well as 11 other major U.S. airports amid the government shutdown, which the Senate took its first step toward ending on Sunday night. According to a press release from the National Business Aviation Administration (NBAA), this order will, as of now, expire on Dec. 31. "Safety is the cornerstone of business aviation, and the NBAA is fully committed to ensuring the safety of the NAS (National Airspace System)," NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said in a statement. "Among the ways we will do that is to ensure business aviation operators have an understanding of these restrictions and their implications." The FAA will allow exceptions for "emergency operations, medical transport, law enforcement activities and other necessary missions, and will adjust, extend or cancel these restrictions as operational needs dictate," according to Kristen Alsop, media relations division manager with the FAA Office of Communications. The other affected airports are: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Denver International Airport (DEN) General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS) George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) Additional flight restrictions Dig deeper: This announcement comes on the heels of the FAA deciding to reduce air traffic at 40 of the country's "high-volume" markets by 10% – this order went into effect on Nov. 7. According to data from FlightAware, this order has already led to over 3,000 flight cancellations across the country in the first three days. Further legislative action needed What's next: Although the U.S. Senate voted to advance a Republican stopgap bill to fund the government in a test vote Sunday night, it's still unclear when air travel in the U.S. will return to full capacity. Final passage of this bill could still take several more days, as Democrats may raise objections during the passage process. Senators also need to agree on the length of debate before voting on the bill and the U.S. House will need to adopt the deal, as well. Then, it will go to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. Additionally, the Senate agreed on Sunday to schedule a later vote on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year – this has been the sticking point of negotiations. What you can do:
