A Bay Area congressman is calling for the grounding of all non-essential private jet flights amid the federal government shutdown that has led to a shortage of air traffic controllers nationwide and prompted thousands of flight delays and cancellations for the general public. U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy calling for “immediate action to ensure that all luxury private jet operations are suspended before any reductions for commercial air travel are implemented.” Duffy last week announced that airlines would have to decrease their number of flights by 10%, with the first increment starting on Friday at 40 airports across the country, while the federal shutdown continues.
There were more than 75 canceled flights Monday across five airports in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, and Monterey, according to the aviation data website FlightAware. Garamendi’s letter said thousands have been canceled or delayed across the U.S. The congressman’s letter noted that one in six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controllers involve private jets. “Potentially allowing luxury travel for the over 15,000 private jets in the country to proceed while working families struggle to get to their destinations sends a clear and unacceptable message: that the wealthy are playing by different rules,” Garamendi wrote. He said that with the exception of aircraft used for agricultural, emergency or other essential public service purposes, “every available resource within the Federal Aviation Administration should be dedicated to maintaining safe, equitable air travel for the public.”
The Federal shutdown is over why would the Senator call to ground flights now?
bddq,
.
John Garamendi’s a Congressman/Representative, not a Senator.
Who cares what his title is.
In fact his title should be “late”.
The FAA has already been limiting private jets at the major airports.
The government is definitely still shut down as the house has not voted on the bill yet.
bddp,
.
Congressman Garamendi made his announcement to ground private jets last week, before the U.S. Senate voted on Monday. It took a few days for the media to pick up his press release announcement.
Seriously?
That’s one of the most ridiculous ideas I’ve heard in a while.
I feel sorry for the people who voted for him.
So, you think that billionaires with sharp elbows should always be put at the head of the line. Did I get that right?
Not all private jets are owned by an individual billionaire. Corporations, local and state governments, and universities also use them. A large percentage of jets are chartered,
or may be owned by multiple companies, like a timeshare arrangement.
Billionaires? Private jets to own don’t take a billion dollars to own. Typical thought..
No you didn’t get it right but keep that victim mentality up…
Should be grounded anyway due to the climate effects on a flown passenger mile basis vs. commercial flights with many more seats.
Little concern for most people cept …yes you know
So screw over the little guy so big corps can control the airways…nice solution!
Contrast that with the effects of letting California burn every year during fire season.
Your Governor has reduced wildfire prevention programs by $100M for 2025.
Apparently he believes fires don’t contribute to climate change.
He should be calling for all of Congress to not be paid during a shutdown.
OR..You could just vote to END the Shutdown..It seems that some decided it was past…Time.
… only the private jets politicos use
Who let Garaleapfrog out of his cave? I actually thought he was dead.
I fly private try and stop all of us!
Yet another one trying for free publicity.
The real PROBLEM,
https://www.gocomics.com/henrypayne/2025/11/10
Funny how the “shutdown” had no effects on chem trails. Skies were wiped out yesterday.
Chemtrails? Hahaha
If they shut down the private jets, would that strand Newscum in Brazil – cuase you know he aint flying commercial. Then maybe he take a tour of the Amazon River – I do not wish ill upon him but removing him from California permanently we have a chance at succes in this state.
He is not wrong… but he is not right either. Some of those private jets are also for critical and urgent purposes – It would be more than disheartening if I knew a loved one’s vital organ transplant was grounded.
I find the best solutions are usually somewhere in the middle. I definitely don’t believe that all private jets should be grounded, but I do see the value in applying a similar 10% to these assets as well, as it does contribute to the demand on the already-strained, if not limited, resources.
I don’t at all know how and who the arbitrator is on that 10% they are applying, but I also think to some degree this solves itself with about 10% of travelers not wanting to board a plane (commercial or private) knowing that you might have someone in that tower that is also an Uber driver when he should be sleeping.
Oh, editorial note. I just saw where the grounding would be applied to non-essential private flights. So my life-saving body organ analogy does not apply – but still…
I still want my CEO to make his meeting 🙂
“non-essential private jet flights” – Some high level executive trying to get to a meeting that could result in a deal that creates many jobs.. seems essential to me as it could provide employment to some working class families. Most politicians have no clue on how things work, John is just trying to keep the class war alive. Take a nap dude.