First Step Is FAA Reauthorization, Organization Statement Says

Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA), President Gregory Principato issued a statement Tuesday in response to President Obama's Speech Monday calling for a $50 billion investment in transportation infrastructure.

In his speech, Obama said he plans "... to invest in our nation’s airports by improving their runways and other equipment and facilities. We also propose a robust investment in our effort to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system (NextGen). This investment will help both the FAA and airlines to install new technologies and, among other improvements, move from a national ground-based radar surveillance system to a more accurate satellite-based surveillance system – the backbone of a broader effort to reduce delays for passengers, increase fuel efficiency for carriers, and cut airport noise for those who live and work near airports."

"We agree with the president that an investment in transportation infrastructure is needed," Principato said in his statement. "President Obama and Congress could immediately have an impact by completing work on the pending FAA reauthorization bill. The House version of the bill, which includes a $2.50 increase in the cap on the Passenger Facility Charge, would provide airports with the ability to make needed infrastructure improvements, while creating 125,000 jobs right now without increasing the federal deficit. The bill also includes provisions that are necessary to turn NextGen into NowGen."

Principato

Airports Council International - North America represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Nearly 400 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the five worldwide regions of Airports Council International.

FMI: www.aci-na.org, www.whitehouse.gov