Airports in the Region… like Gary/Chicago International… may be feeling the effects of the federal government shutdown in ways that aren’t highly visible, more under the radar, so to speak. Ed Bolen, President and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, told the Region News Team today that a number of operators in and around northwest Indiana are affected. “We’ve heard from B. Coleman Aviation, which is a start-up company,” and they’re just at a standstill, Bolen said. He says if “you just look at general aviation airports in a 25-mile radius of Gary,” that represents over a 200-million dollar a year economic impact. Bolen says the annual economic impact of aviation in Indiana is over six-billion dollars.The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aircraft Registry has been closed during the shutdown, halting the sale and purchase of aircraft in the US and preventing the renewal of aircraft registrations since the beginning of the month. The association says the shutdown has effectively grounded the general aviation industry, severely jeopardizing countless jobs, and America’s economy and infrastructure, noting many entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes rely on the airplanes for business flights, as do communities, for critical services including medical transport, mail delivery and firefighting.
To hear our interview with Ed Bolen, visit News Audio on Demand here at our website
http://wakeradio.com/index.php/news/region-news/74329-region-aviation-affected-by-shutdown.html
http://indiana105.com/news/region-news/86490-region-aviation-affected-by-shutdown.html