Five of the busiest business aviation airfields in the U.S., including New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport (KTEB), are among the 40 “high-impact” airports where the FAA is imposing a reduction in air traffic as the government shutdown continues. Late last night, the FAA issued an emergency order mandating air carriers to reduce scheduled domestic flights at these airports by 10% from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily before next Friday, citing controller workforce and subsequent safety issues exacerbated by the shutdown.

But FAR Part 91 operators will not go unscathed. Notably, “general aviation operations may…be reduced by up to 10% at high-impact airports,” with the FAA specifically listing KTEB, Houston William P. Hobby (KHOU), and Dallas Love Field (KDAL). Other affected high-traffic business aviation airports include Washington Dulles (KIAD) and Las Vegas Harry Reid (KLAS).

Additionally, general aviation VFR operations could be restricted in controlled airspace at the 40 high-impact airports when “an FAA owned and operated facility does not have adequate staffing levels.” In this case, ATC may not provide radar traffic information service; radar assistance to VFR aircraft; terminal radar services for VFR aircraft; VFR traffic pattern operations; practice approaches to VFR aircraft; and flight checks services to restore inoperable equipment and approaches, among others. In fact, ATIS information at Newark International Airport (KEWR) today warned, “No Class ‘B’ Services,” essentially banning VFR operations in its airspace.

During roundtable discussions earlier this week at AIN’s Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit - Maintenance (CALS Mx) in Scottsdale, Arizona, I asked maintenance directors about the software that they use and what missing features could improve efficiency. The wide-ranging discussions with those responsible for maintaining corporate fleets covered everything from predictive maintenance to troubleshooting and tracking and artificial intelligence (AI). (Ed. note: CALS participants are encouraged to speak candidly, and AIN agrees not to identify them.)

Although some participants felt that they are being bombarded by AI-related solutions, there was some agreement that the technology might be helpful. Some companies are using Camp’s Corridor software to help manage their maintenance departments, and the roundtable participants were interested to hear about Aero Star Aviation’s development of its own Corridor-based AI tool to help mechanics learn about maintenance practices and troubleshooting solutions that are part of their peers’ tribal knowledge. “As a new mechanic, you can’t always find the lead [to ask a question],” said one participant.

In any case, despite some resistance by maintainers to adopt AI tools, they did admit that there are plenty of opportunities to apply AI in the maintenance arena. One company is seeing benefits from its flight operational quality assurance program, not just for pilots but also as a resource to tease out maintenance-related issues.

After previously announcing a temporary halt to U.S. deliveries of its PC-12 single-engine turboprop and PC-24 twinjet in August, due to 39% tariffs imposed on Swiss products by the U.S. government, Pilatus has committed to resuming deliveries to U.S. customers. Earlier this week, Pilatus handed over the first PC-12 Pro for a U.S. customer.

A Pilatus spokesman told AIN, “For the time being, Pilatus will honor its contractual responsibilities towards its U.S. clients and dealers by ensuring deliveries to the USA until the end of 2025. PC-12 and PC-24 ferry flights to the USA have therefore resumed. Intensive discussions have been held with U.S. sales partners and end customers to seek transition solutions with regard to handling trade tariffs.”

“In addition, the Pilatus final assembly plant in Colorado and the subsidiaries in the USA, which employ around 400 employees, need to be kept working at full capacity. The decision was therefore taken for this reason as well. Overall, however, this move will result in a considerable loss of earnings for Pilatus.”

Next year, Pilatus will open a new service center at Florida’s Sarasota International Airport (KSRQ). Eventually, the company plans to build a final assembly plant there for aircraft slated to go to buyers in North and South America.

A panel this week at Corporate Jet Investor Miami 2025 examined the growing problem of informal jet sharing, warning that flight-by-seat selling through WhatsApp groups and similar platforms poses major safety, insurance, and legal risks. Moderator David Hernandez of Vedder Price said such activity is more than a simple legal gray area, noting that consumers using illegal jet share services “really have no rights” if something goes wrong.

Dan Harris of Ironbird Partners said the trend shows how the industry has failed to meet a demand. “The consumer obviously wants it, and we have been unable to provide a solution,” he said, calling it a “failed opportunity” for legitimate providers to create compliant options.

Barry Lambert of Southern Sky Aviation said his company has lost legitimate business to such groups. “We’ve seen anything from lost flights to lost management opportunities,” he said. Jacquie Dalton of Sparrow Executive Jets added that illegal seat selling undermines professional operations. She warned that scammers are “using actual tail numbers” and routes on social media to deceive customers into thinking they are booking through approved operators.

Wade Black of Magnifica Air said many passengers do not realize the risks. He said his company is developing a Part 121 operation to provide a regulated, transparent alternative.

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Atlantic Aviation has expanded its footprint in the U.S. Southwest with the purchase of Jet Center at Santa Fe, one of two FBOs at New Mexico’s Santa Fe Regional Airport (KSAF). For Atlantic, this marks its third location in the state, joining facilities in Albuquerque (KABQ) and Farmington (KFMN), and its 107th overall.

Located just north of the control tower at the intersection of taxiways Golf and Alpha, Jet Center at Santa Fe moved into its newly-built $2.8 million terminal two years ago. Amenities in the 6,200-sq-ft facility include a naturally lit passenger lobby with an 18-foot-high ceiling, pilot lounge with snooze room, six-seat conference room, and rampside vehicle access.

It also offers 50,000 sq ft of heated hangar space capable of sheltering the latest ultra-long-range business jets, as well as more than 16 acres of ramp. The complex will be rebranded in line with Atlantic’s standards, with the company’s rewards program available to customers.

“This acquisition fits squarely within our strategy of identifying FBOs with strong market leadership and exceptional facilities in quality markets,” explained Bobby Femia, the company’s v-p of mergers and acquisitions. “Jet Center at Santa Fe’s modern terminal and hangars provide a solid foundation for us to continue building upon as we deliver the premium service experience our customers expect across our network.”

Canada’s 10% luxury tax on aircraft and vessels has been repealed as of Wednesday, according to the Canadian Business Aviation Association. The Canadian government said the luxury tax proved to be “inefficient, costly to administer, and challenging for Canadian industries at a time of ongoing global economic uncertainty.”

The tax repeal was a surprise announcement from panelists during the “O Canada” session at Corporate Jet Investor Miami 2025 this week. “About three-ish years ago, the Canadian government instituted a luxury tax on aircraft, essentially new aircraft, 10% on that,” said panelist and Levaero Aviation v-p of sales and business development Stan Kuliavas.

“So if you buy…a $10 million airplane, there's a $1 million luxury tax, and then you pay the sales tax on top of that. [It’s] not very business forward or friendly…We were very happy to learn in our federal budget that was just tabled…they have eliminated the luxury tax.”

Co-founder and COO of charter operator Flight Club and managing partner at YYZlaw Ehsan Monfared told attendees that Bombardier averaged eight to 10 business jet sales in Canada before enactment of the tax. “Post-luxury tax, they were around the two-aircraft mark.” Already, he remarked, salespeoples’ phones were “absolutely blowing up on budget day, so that’s a really good sign.”

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has launched a nearly $19 million, five-month construction project to rebuild segments of taxiways at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), which will cause overnight operation disruptions. Under repair is Taxiway C from Runway 16R/34L to 16L/34R; Taxiways H, M, and N; and Taxiway P between Taxiway B and Runway 16R/34L.

This has resulted in overnight closures to Runway 16R/34L this week. Starting on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. PST, the runway will be closed for 80 consecutive hours—through 6 a.m. on Thursday. This will be followed by closures of similar duration starting on November 16 and November 30.

On December 7 and lasting for four consecutive days, the runway will be closed each night at 10:30 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning. That will be repeated from December 14 through December 18.

The work will pause over the holiday period and resume on January 4 with a full 80-hour closure of 16R/34L, which will be repeated for the next two weeks before reverting back to the four consecutive nightly closures commencing on January 25 and February 1.

According to LAWA, the project will deliver important upgrades and extended lifespan to airfield facilities and include full-depth asphalt pavement section reconstruction, infield grading and drainage improvements, airfield electrical improvements. airfield lighting and signage, and pavement markings. The improvements are being phased to minimize operational impacts.

World leaders and scientists will gather to discuss climate topics, including the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reduce aircraft carbon emissions, at the United Nation’s COP30 conference next week in Belém, Brazil. In its neat form, SAF can reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in turbine aircraft by up to 80%.

The Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Fuel—a partnership of more than 20 companies and trade associations dedicated to the scaling of SAF production and its use—is highlighting the industry’s position at the forefront of SAF adoption ahead of the conference.

Retail accessibility to SAF is now available at more than 100 locations worldwide through direct uplift, and, through the book-and-claim process, customers can purchase the environmental benefits of SAF at thousands of locations, strategically expanding its global reach and impact to address emissions and promote investment directly into future SAF production increases.

COP30 takes place 10 years after the Paris climate agreement, in which countries pledged to try to restrict the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees C. The coalition encourages aircraft operators globally to contact their fuel providers, FBOs, and sustainability advisors to identify SAF options—especially for flights next week to Brazil for the conference—and for all future missions.

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