From: Greg Evans, Chairman of the Board, Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. and Member, NBAA AMAC Committee

Dear friends and business aviation colleagues,

The shutdown of the United States government, which began Oct. 1, unfortunately is having the unintended consequence of negatively impacting the industry we love, and one which supports our livelihoods.

As an industry, it is absolutely vital for business aviation to band together to let our elected leaders in Washington D.C. understand how each day of the shutdown hurts our industry and could lead to eliminated jobs, closed companies, and a negative impact on our economy.

At Universal, our clients are already feeling the effects of the shutdown:

• For every aircraft that cannot get closed as scheduled, the following collateral effects occur: staffing does not begin as scheduled; paint and interior jobs do not begin as scheduled; insurance policies do not go into effect as scheduled; fuel does not get purchased as scheduled; hangar space rental gets put off; catering does not get purchased as scheduled; ground transportation is not needed as scheduled; hotels in destination cities get canceled, etc. This all relates to lost revenue and lost jobs!
• Customs and Border Protection is reducing or eliminating overtime, limiting operating flexibility – a crucial value of operating a business aircraft.
• The closure of the Department of Transportation means that non-U.S. operators cannot receive critical services needed to operate into the country.
• We’re even seeing a negative impact on colleagues who are trying to enhance their career in business aviation. For example, if the shutdown persists, students who are working to complete their Federal Aviation Administration Dispatchers License will be unable to complete the FAA examination because FAA administrators are on furlough.

How you can help

NBAA is calling on all of us within the business aviation industry to step up and take action.

In addition to highlighting the shutdown’s effect on business aviation with policy-makers in Washington, so that they understand its dire and immediate consequences, NBAA has also made it easy for us to contact our representatives via a Government Shutdown resource page on the association’s website, which provides background information about the current situation, plus a prepared letter you can send to your elected officials, through NBAA’s online “Contact Congress” resource.

NBAA has also created a link that allows you to send personalized tweets to Congress and the White House letting them know how the government shutdown is affecting you. Tweets will be sent from your Twitter account with your approval. In addition, NBAA is requesting you share your shutdown experiences with NBAA, so that the association can get the best possible understanding of shutdown’s impact on Members, and share the information with lawmakers via this online form.

PLEASE encourage your employees, coworkers and colleagues (as we are at Universal) to also get involved and leverage the great web resources NBAA has created.

As an industry we’ve faced tumultuous times before and come out on top because we rallied together. I’m confident we will prevail again by working together to make sure our voices are heard. Our industry and our livelihoods depend on it.

Thank you in advance for helping bring awareness to this most important cause.

Warmest Regards,

Greg Evans
Chairman of the Board
Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.