Global Gateway Alliance Criticizes Cuts to FAA's NextGen ATC Budget

washington dcGlobal Gateway Alliance issued the following statement today about the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed budget cut of $65 million to the NextGen Air Traffic technology program.

The alliance released the statement as U.S. Representative Frank Lobiondo (R-NJ), chair of the transportation and infrastructure aviation subcommitee, was conducting a field hearing today on NextGen Air Traffic technology. The statement reads:

“Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports were the #1, #2 and #5 most delayed airports in the entire country in 2013, so cutting funding to finally replace outdated radar with satellite air traffic technology is particularly harmful to New York and New Jersey.

“For the FAA to ask Congress for a 7 percent cut in funding for NextGen defies common sense. The United States is behind both major developed countries and those in the developing world when it comes to air traffic technology, and for decades NextGen has been the answer.

"Yet the full roll-out of the program is pushed back year after year – already falling from 2020 to 2025, according to recent estimates. And here in the New York market, our air space contributes to one-half to three-quarters of all daily flight delays throughout the country, so we simply can’t wait for relief to come.

“The FAA must make NextGen a true priority and foster a sense of urgency for its implementation. Unilaterally deciding to cut the budget for the program is going in exactly the wrong direction. Instead, the agency and the entire Federal Government need to ramp up NextGen and implement it fully in the New York market first to relieve delays and meet demand both here and across the country.”

Global Gateway Alliance was established to address the major challenges facing the New York City metropolitan region’s airports and related infrastructure. By harnessing the expertise of leaders in business, government, academia, labor and other sectors, the alliance says it will tackle the challenges and advocate for improvements to airports and facilitate the region's continued growth.

Visit www.globalgatewayalliance.org.