Bill Faces Broad Resistance From Industry Groups

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) along with other industry partners today expressed opposition to H.R. 5423, the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act (ANRA), which aims to give local officials the ability to severely restrict access to general aviation airports.

The bill faces broad resistance from industry groups, ranging from general aviation organizations to airline associations. In a letter to U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio and Ranking Member Sam Graves, as well as Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Rick Larsen and Ranking Member Garret Graves, NBAA and its allies said that H.R. 5423 would undercut the utility and safety of thousands of airports across the nation, “reversing course on the need to regulate aviation matters at the federal level.”

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen explained the importance of federal oversight of aviation. "For close to 100 years, Congress has recognized that aviation must be regulated at the federal level," Bolen said. "The national system of airports would be undermined if restrictions are made at the local level, as the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act is attempting to allow.”

H.R. 5423 would allow general aviation airport operators to impose restrictions on aircraft used for compensation or hire. Not only would these restrictions unnecessarily impede airline and business aviation transportation operations, but critical services – such as air ambulance, organ transport and disaster relief – could be impacted as well.

“H.R. 5423 would undermine the long-standing and intentional role of general aviation airports – acting as relievers to allow certain operations to be conducted away from major airports,” added Bolen. “This legislation could drive general aviation traffic to air carrier airports, creating more congestion and potentially negatively impacting safety.

“Today, we are jointly standing up for access to our nation’s air transportation system. Allowing restrictions to be developed and implemented at the local level, as H.R. 5423 would do, sets a dangerous precedent of circumventing the oversight of aviation clearly assigned to the federal level,” Bolen said.

(Source: NBAA news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.nbaa.org