Air Transport Association Applauds Senate Commerce Leadership on Passage of FAA Reauthorization Bill
The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, applauds the Senate Commerce Committee and its leadership, following passage of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill.
"We are pleased that the Senate passed legislation that accomplishes many of the key priorities needed for a healthy and competitive aviation industry. The bill is a vast improvement on legislation passed by the House of Representatives," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "The Senate demonstrated much appreciated leadership and bipartisanship by including language authorizing the FAA to issue grants to help fund NextGen avionics equipage -- a critical first step in ensuring that the benefits of air traffic control modernization can be realized sooner rather than later."
May added that he is extremely pleased the bill recognizes that passengers and commercial air carriers already are bearing a disproportionate tax burden by rejecting any increases in taxes and fees.
Other beneficial elements of the Senate bill are:
- Unlike the House bill, it does not include an unwarranted increase in the Passenger Facility Charge to $7
- It rejects the House approach to punitive measures on foreign repair stations by establishing language that would not violate current bilateral agreements
- Unlike the House bill, it contains no provisions that are detrimental to the carriers' ability to rely on antitrust immunity granted by the U.S. Department of Transportation
Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. On a daily basis, U.S. airlines operate nearly 26,000 flights in 80 countries, using more than 6,000 aircraft to carry an average of two million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo.
ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For additional industry information, visit www.airlines.org.
