The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has joined over 50 industry stakeholders in showing strong support for a legislative proposal from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I). The proposal, introduced on April 29, aims to fund essential investments in national air traffic control (ATC) technology, infrastructure, and workforce.
The coalition, named Modern Skies, consists of NBAA, national and international aviation associations, trade unions, and manufacturers. They assert that the proposed investments are crucial for the United States to maintain its position as “the gold standard” for aviation safety.
“As stakeholders from across the aviation industry, we have sounded the alarm for decades about the challenges created by aging technology and infrastructure, as well as the controller and technician staffing shortages,” stated the coalition. “The committee’s approach is a much-needed downpayment on achieving these benefits for the Americans who fly and ship goods every day.”
The coalition emphasized their intent to collaborate with policymakers to enhance the legislation based on a comprehensive proposal from the Department of Transportation. Their goals include increasing investments in key areas and implementing procurement reform to ensure performance and accountability. They also called on the House to pass these measures and pledged to continue working with the Senate to progress toward having the president sign the legislation.
The NBAA separately issued a letter from association President and CEO Ed Bolen to House T&I Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen. This letter reaffirms the association’s support for the committee’s proposal and highlights the significance of a strong aviation system in connecting citizens, businesses, and communities reliant on business aviation. The industry supports 1.3 million American jobs and contributes $340 billion to economic output.
“The wide-ranging benefits of business aviation in the U.S. are made possible only by our country’s ATC system infrastructure, dedicated workforce and continuous improvement based on data-driven safety initiatives,” Bolen wrote. “We commend the committee for recognizing the importance of improving ATC infrastructure and strengthening the controller workforce to improve safety and efficiency in the national airspace system.”
