Congress grounds FAA and airlines raise fares

last updated 8 January 2015

Congress last week failed to come to an agreement to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running, sending the agency into a partial shutdown. Air traffic controllers are still at work, and no flights were canceled, but 4,000 employees were furloughed and construction projects halted. The FAA also stopped collecting federal taxes added to airline ticket prices, depriving the government of an estimated $200 million a week. The airline industry quietly raised ticket prices by the same amount as the taxes. “The consumer should have saved anywhere from $25 to $50 round-trip,” said Rick Seaney of FareCompareâ€‹.com. “Instead, it’s a windfall for the airlines.”