FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2016

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) President and CEO Kevin M. Burke and American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) President and CEO Todd Hauptli today issued a joint statement following the release of The Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act (AIRR Act), House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster’s Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization proposal:

“We recognize today’s introduction of the AIRR Act is an initial step, not the last step, of a complex process.  We are pleased to see the Chairman’s proposal preserves and protects essential funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and that it removes a burdensome requirement to better streamline the FAA approval process for needed infrastructure project funding.”

“We are serially underinvesting in airports in this country by more than $3 billion annually according to the FAA, and the proposal put forward today misses a significant opportunity to tackle the real challenge of aging airport infrastructure and airports’ ability to serve their passengers and communities.  The easiest way to build airport infrastructure and let airports address their own local needs is through a modernized Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) program.”

“As the FAA reauthorization process continues, AAAE and ACI-NA will continue to urge Congress to adjust the federal cap on local PFCs so that airports can do their part to meet the infrastructure needs of our national aviation system.  There is a long way to go before this legislation is ready for final adoption by the Congress.”