Vice President’s Comments Underscore That the Time Is Now for Infrastructure Investment in U.S. Airports

February 7, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2014

 

WASHINGTON — Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) today issued the following statement:

“Vice President Biden’s comments regarding LaGuardia Airport were blunt, but they put into sharp relief the fact that the U.S. needs to get serious about infrastructure investment, especially in our nation’s airports,” said Kevin M. Burke, ACI-NA president and CEO.

“For America’s airports, an important part of this funding comes from the Passenger Facility Charge, the user fee that air travelers pay when they purchase an airline ticket and which is dedicated for airport capital improvement projects.  We look forward to President Obama’s forthcoming budget, and we hope Vice President Biden’s recent statements will be reflected through ensuring that the purchasing power of the PFC will be restored to allow our nation’s airports to build, update and maintain terminals that lead the world.”

 

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.