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This week the US Senate failed to approve a bill that would have freed up much needed federal money to finance airport infrastructure improvements. Charles Barclay, president of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), explains why the bill is needed and how US airports are suffering from the delay.

The US Federal Aviation Administration predicts that US passenger enplanements will increase from about 765 million in 2007 to more than 1 billion by 2016. Just 10 years from now an additional 300 million passengers are expected to utilize our air transportation system – the equivalent of adding the entire population of the United States to an already delay-plagued, constrained air transportation system.

Meanwhile, airline delays and customer complaints continue to skyrocket. The Department of Transportation Inspector General recently told lawmakers that the number of passengers affected by delays during the summer of 2007 increased by 20% from the previous summer. Long delays on the tarmac, which understandably frustrate passengers, increased by 25% during the same time period.

Airports need additional resources to build the infrastructure necessary to accommodate increasing demand and to help reduce the airline delays that are plaguing our aviation system. Congress can help by passing a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill that raises the cap on local Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) and increases Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding. Airports rely on AIP funding and PFC revenue to improve safety and enhance capacity.

The House of Representative has done its part by passing a bill that would raise the PFC cap from US$4.50 to US$7.00 and increase AIP funding by an additional US$100 million per year. The FAA reauthorization bill that was debated in the Senate earlier this week also calls for increasing AIP funding by the same amount. Lawmakers should be commended for recognizing the need to provide airports with additional funding for critical infrastructure projects.

It’s time for Congress to take the next step and finish its work on the FAA reauthorization bill. The previous reauthorization bill expired more than seven months ago. Every month that goes by without the PFC increase costs airports approximately US$100 million. Moreover, airports are still waiting to receive a full year’s worth of AIP funding since Congress has approved short-term extensions rather than a multi-year bill.

Congressional leaders deserve credit for resolving a fundamental disagreement over how to pay for air traffic control modernization and for working hard to overcome other challenges. Despite those strong efforts, the Senate was unable to pass a multi-year bill this week thanks to disagreements largely unrelated to aviation policy. There is still time on the clock, and I hope lawmakers will regroup and send a multi-year bill to the president’s desk soon that raises the PFC cap and increases AIP funding.

Charles Barclay is president of AAAE, the world’s largest professional organization representing the men and women who work at airports.

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