A Change Now, to Change Later

I’m not one for making guarantees.

Before big sporting events, you’ll usually have at least one player guaranty of a win and when the game is over he’s either hounded by the press for promising something that he couldn’t deliver on, or lauded as clairvoyant of unquestionable knowledge about the sport.

Of course neither conclusion is real, but it makes good copy, so in the spirit of making guarantees, I am declaring this to you now — I have no clue what is going to happen in our aviation system the rest of this year.

OK, not exactly a bold prediction, but this year has been anything but predictable when it comes to aviation:

• ATC privatization was viewed as a slam dunk, but here we are in August and the concept is on life support.
• The new presidential administration came out of the gate swinging hard at infrastructure investment, yet here we are at the end of summer with no deal in sight.
• New security measures have changed several times so far (and likely have again since I wrote this).
• The infamous travel ban has been enforced, then halted, then somewhat enforced, then somewhat halted.
• Self-driving car legislation and TNC regulations are still up for debate.

While we’ve not seen any concrete action one way or another, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. At the end of July, we saw federal proposals gain support from lawmakers to remove the cap on the passenger facility charge, allowing airports to take local control of their own vision.

And with a proposal to bolster the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) making its way through the pipeline, there’s a sign the message about the importance of our nation’s aviation infrastructure is getting through to leaders.

It’s more important than ever to keep the pressure on Washington to pass legislation to build better airports and improve the quality and safety of our aviation system. With all the political noise hitting the nation from various realms, it’s easy for aviation to be drowned out and forgotten because other areas might be more politically appealing. Keeping these issues front and center with your community leaders and citizens provides a louder voice to your federal leaders and aids the industry associations out there also fighting the good fight.

I have no idea what the status of these bills will be when you read this column, but I do know if we all don’t do our part to keep our industry’s concerns on the front burner in Washington, nothing is going to change.

I guaranty it.