Air Travel Legislation Needed to Rebuild Aviation System

Barely a day goes by that a newspaper or TV station in some part of the country doesn’t carry a story about long lines at the airport and delayed flights. And unfortunately, as today’s USA Today story on the current problems at New York’s JFK shows, those delays almost always have a trickle-down effect on airports in other parts of the country, resulting in a nationwide crisis.

In our 2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure —which gave the nation’s airports an abysmal D+—the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) noted that air travel and traffic are projected to grow 4.3 percent annually through 2015 and that accommodating the growing number of regional jets and new super-jumbo jets presents a significant challenge for our existing infrastructure.

The crumbling state of America’s airports poses a real threat to public safety and the nation’s economy, and financing the urgently needed repairs must become a priority for our nation’s leaders. That’s why ASCE strongly supports quick action on the FAA’s Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 2881)—a critical step in revitalizing our weakening aviation infrastructure, and one of the eleven legislative actions ASCE identified in its Action Plan for the 110th Congress that will help raise the nation’s infrastructure GPA. The legislation would provide $66 billion over the next four years to help rebuild U.S. airports and modernize the aviation system, including much needed funding for our growing capital needs, such as runway improvements, and modernize the management of the nation’s airspace.

Without this type of legislative leadership, our ever increasing demand for air travel will completely overwhelm our nation’s airports, leading to even worse and more frequent delays.