Public Affairs Resources

The following is a press release issued March 4, 1999 by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure upon introduction of its proposed FAA reauthorization legislation.

Summary of AIR-21

AIR-21 seeks to strengthen our nation’s aviation system by making our airports and skies safer, by injecting competition into the airline industry, and by ensuring that the investment taxpayers have made in the Aviation Trust Fund is returned in the form of affordable, safe air travel.

While we are grateful for the safety record the airline industry posted last year with zero fatalities, we cannot rest on our laurels. The American people must have the safest, most technologically advanced air traffic control system available.

The United States is home to 19 of the world’s 20 busiest airports, yet we do not have the world’s most advanced air traffic control systems. This must change.

We must also focus our efforts on increasing airport security. We have been fortunate to have never had a serious terrorist attack at a U.S. airport. We should not rely on luck to prevent terrorist attacks; we should rely on upgraded security equipment.

AIR-21 seeks to make our skies and airports safer by proposing the following measures:

• Air traffic control facilities and equipment (F&E) program, which funds air traffic control equipment, is increased by $1 billion per year to $3 billion annually.
• Increased funding level will allow continued investments in explosive detection systems.
• To address critical needs, the bill also establishes a short-term program to fund high priority aviation needs as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation. The new program, entitled the Aviation Systems Accelerated Program or ASAP will cover such items as projects that provide substantial and immediate benefits to reduce delays and congestion (for example, new runways, more and better radar);
• Authorizes funding for Universal Access Systems to enhance security at airports.
• Authorizes funding to help reduce the increasing number of runway incursions.
• Makes runway incursion prevention devices a higher priority for funding under the AIP
• program.
• Requires FAA to enhance the safety of small airports by issuing rules, within 180 days, to certify those airports. Sets aside funding to help small airports pay for the cost of meeting the standards of this new certification.
• Requires cargo airlines to install collision avoidance devices by 12/31/2002

Aviation is an American success story. In the past five years, air travel has grown by 27 percent to 655 million passengers boarding commercial airplanes. The number of passengers is expected to exceed 1 billion annually by 2010. But all is not well. Our airports are becoming more congested. Single airlines are dominating entire markets. Delays are increasing. And ticket prices have little relationship to miles traveled. The General Accounting Office reported that there is a $3 billion annual funding shortfall on airport infrastructure investment. In short, airport capacity has not kept up with demand.

In 1998, FAA cited 27 airports that are seriously congested -- each experiencing more than 20,000 hours of delays per year. Roughly translated, 833 days were wasted last year at each of the seriously congested airports because of aviation delays.

AIR-21 seeks to increase airport capacity by augmenting the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the program that funds airport construction. Increasing capacity will also help ensure increased competition. Without system expansion, carrier domination at key hubs will continue and make it difficult for new entrants to compete. Airports must invest in additional gate/terminal capacity in addition to expanding and lengthening their runways.

AIR-21 seeks to increase competition in the airline industry with the following proposals:

• The Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the program that builds runways, taxiways and provides noise abatement, is increased from $1.95 billion to $5 billion annually. Funding will continue to be distributed through the Federal Aviation Administration using formulas based on the number of passengers traveling through an airport. (Please see state-by-state breakdown of primary airports.)
• In an effort to immediately increase competition in the airline industry, the bill eliminates slots at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and at New York’s Laguardia and JFK Airports by March 1, 2000. At Reagan National, the Secretary has the authority to issue six additional slot exemptions per day for service to underserved airports and markets. An underserved airport is an airport with less than two million passengers per year. An underserved market is a city without nonstop service to National. A slot equals a landing or a take off. Six slots would equal three round trip flights.
• Prior to receiving additional funds, carrier-dominated hubs would be required to file competition plans explaining how they will open up the airport to new competition.
• Establishes a funding program to help small and medium sized cities obtain and promote better air service.
• Establishes a financial assistance program to help small airlines buy new regional jets if they agree to use them to fly to small underserved airports.

The ASAP program will also promote competition with the following:

• Airport and air traffic control projects that will help to enhance competition among airlines (for example, larger terminals with more gates which would require new taxiways and aprons); and
• Projects to enhance air service to small and medium sized communities (for example,longer runways to accommodate larger aircraft, Instrument Landing Systems to permit flights in bad weather).

AIR-21 also recognizes the impact increased aviation traffic will have on local communities. Funding for noise abatement is increased to provide relief to those who live near airports.

Passenger Facility Charge – State and local authorities are given the flexibility to impose PFCs in an amount not to exceed twice the current level. PFCs above $3 can only be used for high-priority airport improvement projects to improve safety or reduce congestion. DOT may approve the higher PFC only if there is not enough money available from the trust fund to pay for the airport’s improvement project.

Since 1970, the flying public and the aviation community have been investing in the Airport and Aviation Trust Fund with the understanding that the money would be returned to them in the form of aviation improvements. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Taxpayers are being cheated because only a portion of the taxes going into the trust fund is invested in aviation infrastructure. If left unchanged, the Aviation Trust Fund balance will grow to more than $90 billion.

To ensure that taxpayers are getting a healthy return on their investment, AIR-21 takes the trust fund off budget so that the money collected from passenger ticket taxes, fuel and other excise taxes are invested to make the nation’s aviation system safer and more efficient. In addition, the historic general fund contribution to aviation will be retained. AIR-21 reaffirms America’s commitment to investing in assets to help our economy grow and our nation prosper.

The bill reforms FAA management policies and project approval process. The bill creates a management oversight board to review major air traffic control decisions. In addition, the Inspector General is required to conduct a review of DOT’s cost accounting system to ensure that taxpayers are getting the most value for their dollar.

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