Sometimes you get what you ask for; and sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
The recently passed FAA reauthorization bill embodies this sentiment in spades. While we finally have a five-year bill bringing stability to the industry, it falls well short of what’s needed to improve and enhance our nation’s aviation system.
The most disappointing aspect of this bill is the failure of Congress to find courage to fund airport infrastructure projects by either raising or removing the PFC cap. Despite $100 billion in infrastructure needs for our airports through 2021, help isn’t on the way to actually pay for them.
When Amazon wanted a second headquarters in a single city, politicians of all stripes fell over each other to promote billions in incentives to come to their area, yet our airports, which create $1 trillion in economic activity across hundreds of cities, can’t scrape an extra nickel in funding.
And the worst of it lies in the fact that lawmakers actually get the message airports are sending. I sat down With ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin Burke at the ACI-NA Annual Conference in Nashville and said their message resonated with members of Congress, but all efforts were stifled by NAME
But it’s all not all doom and gloom. The FAA reauthorization bill also brought stability to the TSA for the time being and we also see improvements in various facets of the industry.
And there’s still a chance at more funding if the long promised infrastructure bill ever comes to fruition. There’s a chance some funding could be coming through the pipeline from a proposed bill, so it’s important airports get a seat at the table when this comes to fruition.
And by the time you read this, we’re going to have some new members of Congress possibly some new committee leaders, so it’s more important than ever to reach out and share your concerns now. After all, you’d rather want them going into Congress knowing your challenges rather than having to learn about them down the road.
