A cross-section of aviation industry groups is urging congressional leaders to step up funding for air traffic control (ATC) maintenance and modernization at the FAA, saying in a letter that “the effects of underinvestment…are becoming strikingly clear.”
Signed by 26 industry associations representing business and general aviation, airlines, air traffic controllers and specialists, pilots and flight attendants, and manufacturers—among many others—the July 16 letter to leaders on the Appropriations Committees, in addition to Senate Commerce and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees, said, “We also believe more must be done to not only maintain and sustain the ATC system but also to modernize it.”
The groups asked the lawmakers to consider changes to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) to enable the use of more funds for the FAA’s Facilities and Equipment (F&E) account. While acknowledging the nation’s budgetary pressures, the groups also noted a growing uncommitted balance of the AATF—projected to reach $5.8 billion at the end of the current fiscal year and $9.5 billion by the end of the decade.
“The AATF has the capacity to maintain and support additional investments that will help facilitate economic growth,” the groups said. “The AATF’s significant uncommitted balance along with [the Congressional Budget Office’s] surplus projections show that the AATF is a stable and predictable source of funding to address the system needs across the [national airspace system or NAS], and we urge Congress to use them to address safety-critical user needs.”
The recent FAA reauthorization legislation directs the FAA to provide additional information on unfunded ATC capital needs. “However, we must continue to build upon the initial steps taken in the FAA Reauthorization Act and provide the necessary capital to address the needs of the NAS,” the groups added.
As for underfunding, the groups expressed concern that the necessary maintenance of existing systems is being neglected. “FAA switched to a ‘fix-on-fail’ model during the Fiscal Year 2013’s sequestration and has not returned to a model of preventative maintenance,” they noted. In addition, they pointed to air traffic control systems that have exceeded their lifespan and added: “Every [Air Route Traffic Control Center] and more than a quarter of all FAA facilities are at least 50 years old, with many in need of replacement.”
The FAA’s current F&E budget does not support these fixes and upgrades, they noted, prompting the agency to request $8 billion in mandatory spending for such efforts. The groups also contended that the lack of funding is slowing the deployment of key NextGen programs such as en-route data communications.
“Supporting the system through robust appropriations primarily derived from the AATF will ensure the system has the resources necessary to grow safely and in a sustainable manner,” the groups said. “Robust government investment in our aviation system is critical to continued safety and our global competitiveness, and the private sector is already investing billions of dollars in both human resources and capital expenditures to keep pace with the demands of the 21st century aviation system.”