On March 17, several aviation group leaders sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and other related lawmakers, requesting dedicated funding for the Contract Tower Program.
The letter requests that under the “Operations” section of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FY 2016 appropriations bill, specific wording be used and include “not less than $153,400,000 shall be for the fully funded and cost-share towers in the contract tower program.”
It states that the FAA Contract Tower Program has provided cost-effective and essential air traffic safety services since 1982, and currently 252 smaller airports in 46 states participate in the program. The 252 towers handle approximately 28 percent of all air traffic control tower (ATCT) aircraft operations in the United States, but only account for about 14 percent of the FAA’s overall budget allotted to ATCT tower operations.
The letter also points out that all federal contract controllers are FAA-certified air traffic controllers who meet the same training and operating standards as FAA-employed controllers, and a majority of them are former FAA controllers or veterans with prior military air traffic control experience. The safety and efficiency record of the FAA Contract Tower Program has been validated numerous times by the DOT Inspector General, as well as by FAA safety audits.
The aviation group leaders also specify that the federal contract towers operate together with FAA-staffed facilities throughout the country as part of a unified national air traffic control system, and as a result, the FAA Contract Tower Program: (1) enhances aviation safety at smaller airports that otherwise would not have a tower; (2) provides significant cost savings to the FAA and taxpayers; (3) helps small airports with retaining and developing commercial air service and general aviation; (4) promotes economic development and creates jobs in local communities; (5) connects smaller airports and communities with the national air transportation system, and (6) consistently receives high marks for customer service from aviation users and pilots.
The aviation group leaders who signed the letter are J. Spencer Dickerson, executive director, U.S. Contract Tower Association; Faye Malarkey Black, interim president, Regional Airline Association; Thomas L. Hendricks, CEO and president, National Air Transportation Association; Ed Bolen, president and CEO, National Business Aviation Association; Greg Principato, president, National Association of State Aviation Officials; Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO, Airports Council International; Jennifer Imo, executive director, General Aviation Airport Council; Peter F. Dumont, president, Air Traffic Control Association and Stephen A. Alterman, president, Cargo Airline Association.
It’s apparent that the letter was sent to avoid what happened in 2013, when the FAA threatened to close 149 federal contract towers in order to meet mandated budget-curtailment requirements under the federal budget sequestration. Aviation leaders were also active in efforts then to preserve the funding for the contract facilities and in mitigating the potential impact of tower closures on aviation operations.
The same day, speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 14th annual Aviation Summit, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) reiterated his vision of “transformative” change for the FAA, upholding private and/or non-profit air traffic management systems run by other countries as examples. In Shuster’s vision, the new FAA reauthorization bill could create a new air traffic control structure, which would free up the FAA to return its focus to safety.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen cautioned about this direction saying that the United States has the most complex and diverse system in the world, and other systems have led to access concerns. “These systems are typically paid through user fees, which require a costly bureaucracy to collect,” Bolen said. “Any new system must be equitable, transparent and preserve general aviation access.”
Airline executives at the summit pushed for a closer look at the international systems and key executives of air traffic management systems touted the benefits of their system. Their thoughts being that until ATC gets out from under the FAA, NextGen will continue to be stalled.
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