Modern Infrastructure Will Foster Economic Competitiveness,
Safety, And Jobs
In written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives
Aviation Subcommittee, ALPA called for the Congress to quickly move
a strong FAA reauthorization bill that funds modernizing the
national airspace system and enhances safety for all who depend on
air transportation.
“FAA reauthorization is the foundation for achieving a
modern infrastructure that provides safe and efficient air
transportation to drive this country’s economy and create
jobs for its citizens,” said Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA’s
president (pictured). “ALPA recognizes the FAA’s
essential leadership role in setting regulatory standards and
conducting oversight over the range of safety issues that affect
airline operations. Congress must pass a solid reauthorization bill
that well positions the FAA to do its job.”
FAA reauthorization must provide an adequate, stable, and
reliable funding stream for NextGen, the modernization initiative
to upgrade both ground-based and airborne air traffic control
system components. Currently, outmoded equipment and antiquated
facilities hobble the efficiency of the U.S. air transportation
system, which is already straining to meet demand. Modernizing the
nation’s airspace will boost efficiency and build capacity
while maintaining or enhancing an already high standard of
safety.
In addition, FAA reauthorization holds the potential to
advance aviation safety in many critical areas, including
bolstering research on issues such as volcanic ash, in-flight
icing, wake turbulence, alternative fuels, wind shear, and ways to
improve runway safety. The legislation must also continue to fund
the operation of Midway and Wake Island airfields as transpacific
emergency landing options.
ALPA maintains that FAA reauthorization must also reaffirm that
U.S. citizens will continue to control all key operational aspects
of U.S. airlines. The legislation should also direct a study of the
feasibility of installing cockpit doors on all-cargo aircraft, and
it must address the threat that laser attacks pose to airline
passengers and crews.
“The actions needed to modernize our airspace system are
complicated and expensive, but, given the keen global competition
and soaring demand that we know exist, they are an investment in
the future that the United States cannot afford to delay,”
continued Capt. Moak. “The urgent need to pursue
modernization and the safety initiatives contained in the FAA
reauthorization bill leave no doubt that Congress must immediately
pass this critical legislation.”