The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday morning passed the bipartisan Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935), also known known as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. It will now head to the Senate before being signed into law.
According to The Hill, the Senate has its own version of the bill it’s looking to pass; members of both chambers of Congress will have until September 30 to finalize the bill. The FAA reauthorization bill would fund the administration through 2028 and includes directives to increase air traffic controller hiring targets; the establishment of a workforce development program to educate, recruit and retain aviation professionals; raising the commercial airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67; directives to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to set standards for aircraft boarding and deplaning for individuals with disabilities; and more. It also included several provisions elevating the voice of travel advisors as vital travel distribution stakeholders and consumer advocates.
“While comprehensive in scope, the bill recognizes the invaluable role travel advisors play in the larger travel and tourism ecosystem while serving as a key voice for consumers. I applaud the bipartisan hard work of Chairman Sam Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, the Transportation Committee and the full House in approving this bill. We urge the Senate to quickly follow suit and get this bill over the finish line before the September 30 deadline,” said said Zane Kerby, American Society of Travel Advisors' president and CEO.
To this effect, the bill makes clear that the travel agency’s obligation to issue a client refund is limited to scenarios where it is in possession of the funds in question; expands the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee by adding a dedicated travel agency seat; requires DOT to implement a streamlined system for fulfilling consumer disclosure requirements during “offline” transactions; and creates a new “Passenger Experience Advisory Committee” with a seat set aside for ticket agents among its membership.
“The United States requires a more modern, efficient and secure air travel system to meet increasing demand and grow the U.S. economy. The bipartisan House bill is a critical step in correcting years of federal underinvestment, which has left the system with 1,200 fewer air traffic controllers than a decade ago,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman ahead of the vote Thursday.
“The bill includes provisions to increase investments in airport infrastructure, accelerate the deployment of air traffic control technologies and address workforce shortages, relieving strain on the system and increasing our country’s global competitiveness.”
Freeman noted previous U.S. Travel research from this April, which showed that over half of Americans (52 percent) say they would travel more for leisure in the next six months if the travel experience was not as much of a hassle. That’s on top of the 53 percent of all Americans (and 81 percent of leisure travelers) who already had travel planned for the next sixth months. One-quarter of Americans (26 percent) said at the time they planned to increase the amount they spend on leisure travel in the next six months.
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