'VLJs Will Lead To Largest Increase In Air Traffic Since The 1960s'

With Congress poised to consider FAA reauthorization legislation next year, US Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters said Monday she will listen to all members of the aviation community as her agency grapples with how best to finance new air traffic controllers and equipment investments needed to keep pace with surging traffic in the system.

During a day-long aviation tour in Kansas, the Secretary (right) said she would "listen to everyone as we work on this important legislation," and called on lawmakers, aviation industry leaders and union officials to come together to develop a solution.

"We must rethink the aviation financing system," she added. (Is it just us, or did your User Fee Early Warning Radar System just light up, too? -- Ed.)

Secretary Peters, who traveled to Wichita, KS to meet with general aviation leaders and tour Cessna's aircraft assembly plant, said the expected delivery of thousands of new, very light jets would lead to the largest increase in air traffic since the 1960s. 

During a visit later in the day to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control facility in Olathe, the Secretary added that the growth in air traffic was occurring just as thousands of air traffic controllers were getting set to retire.  As a result, she said the federal government has plans in place to hire 11,800 new controllers over the next 10 years.

New technology also is needed to ensure that incoming air traffic controllers can safely handle the increase in air traffic, Peters said. She noted that the FAA planned to install new satellite-based tracking equipment that would allow for greater precision, but that "the best plans and the most ambitious schedules won’t mean a thing without a way to pay for it."

She called on aviation leaders, including representatives of Wichita’s general aviation aircraft manufacturers, and air traffic controllers’ union president Pat Forrey, with whom she met during her visit to Olathe, to suggest improvements to the current system.

"We must be open minded as we tackle the tough issues before us," Peters said. "Ultimately, the ideas are going to come from assembly lines, break rooms and work stations here in Kansas and across the nation."

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