Airports Oppose AIRR Act Over Lack of Commitment to Airport Infrastructure

July 19, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2017

 

WASHINGTON – Citing a lack of long-term solutions for America’s airport infrastructure needs, Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) today stated its opposition to the 21st Century AIRR Act (H.R. 2997).

“Airports Council International – North America opposes the 21st Century AIRR Act, so long as it does not include the ability for airports to fund critically needed infrastructure projects,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke.  “Airports proposed a fix – modernizing the Passenger Facility Charge user fee – that would have allowed us to address our $100 billion in essential airport infrastructure needs without costing federal taxpayers a single penny. Unfortunately, this provision was not included in this bill, nor any other provision seriously addressing airport infrastructure.”

The 21st Century AIRR Act also lowers funding for the important Airport Improvement Program (AIP) by two percent, different from what was originally reported out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. While the bill still contains a small increase to AIP, this will not sustain our long-term airport infrastructure needs.

 

About ACI-NA

Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) 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. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports support more than 11.5 million jobs and account for $1.4 trillion in economic activity – or more than seven percent of the total U.S. GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP. Learn more at www.airportscouncil.org.