US government shutdown casts doubt on Delta's A220 launch plan

Delta's long-running quest to begin Airbus A220 flights may face another hurdle: the ongoing shutdown of the US federal government. The Atlanta-based carrier – the first US airline to acquire the A220 – has planned to place the type into revenue service on 31 January with flights from New York LaGuardia airport to Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth. But the US budgetary standoff – which is about to enter a third week – has shuttered large swaths of the US government. The FAA already certified the A220 itself (those approvals came in 2016), but carriers cannot operate new aircraft types until the agency concludes an operational review and adds those types to airlines' operating certificates, insiders note. FAA units tasked with that work, however, are not currently on the job, they say. The process can be lengthy even when the government is open, and sometimes wraps up only shortly before an aircraft is scheduled enter service, says John Goglia, a former NTSB member who now helps aircraft operators navigate the process of placing new aircraft types into service. Delta insists the government shutdown will not affect its schedules. "Delta continues to monitor the situation and will work with the FAA to ensure that the A220 is fully certified when it enters our fleet," Delta tells FlightGlobal. "No customer disruption or impact to schedules are expected."<br/>