Americans are one step closer to fewer air travel delays thanks to Friday’s passage of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
"We applaud the House for acting quickly on the FAA reauthorization bill and making it a top priority," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "The FAA reauthorization bill is critical to building an air travel system for the 21st century. We hope the House and Senate will immediately appoint conferees and begin work to resolve the differences between the two bills."
The FAA reauthorization bill is meant to reduce delays and airport congestion by accelerating airport modernization efforts through implementing the NextGen air traffic control system, converting the nation's air traffic control from a ground-based system to one that uses GPS.
"We hope both the House and Senate will agree in conference that robust investments for NextGen are non-negotiable," said Dow.
Simply reducing delays in air travel could add $17 billion dollars in travel spending back into the economy, the organization argued. That spending could support more than 155,000 jobs in the travel industry, primarily in lodging, food services, amusement, recreation and retail.
"We need travelers moving efficiently, not staring at delays and cancellations on airport monitors," Dow said. "The U.S. has waited far too long to modernize its air travel infrastructure, and our economy is suffering because of it.”
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