A Civil War Erupts Over FAA's New Funding Proposal in Washington
Correction: In an earlier version of this story posted on USNews.com, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey's name was misspelled.
On February 14, the day the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a new funding plan for the entire agency, JetBlue Airways was experiencing a meltdown of epic proportions: Flummoxed by an ice storm, nine of its planes sat on the runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, passengers stranded inside, for six hours or more. The JetBlue incident, of course, was a debacle. Depending on what you believe, the FAA's revolutionary funding proposal was a bit of one, too.
There's a reason, though, for revolution. In the next decade, demand for air travel is expected to triple. At the same time, the Aviation Trust Fund, which currently pays many of the costs associated with running the FAA's air traffic control, is at all-time low. The agency is also trying to upgrade to using the global positioning system, which would allow it to better manage congestion and avoid air traffic gridlock. Its new funding proposal, the FAA says, will enable that.
"It is absolutely a crucial turning point, not just for the FAA but for future of our entire aviation system," Marion Blakey, the top official at the agency, tells U.S. News. "We're at the pivot point where either we decide to make a solid, sustainable commitment to the [upgraded next-generation] system ... or we miss that opportunity altogether."
However, skeptics and members of the general aviation community–those who use small planes and business jets–are howling over how the FAA plans to get there. The agency has proposed abolishing the 7.5 percent tax on airplane tickets that currently makes up about half of the money going into the Aviation Trust Fund each year and replacing it with a more than 200 percent increase in taxes on most aircraft fuels, as well as special fees for planes using domestic airspace.
The agency also wants to charge general aviation fliers each time they land at one of the top 30 major U.S. airport hubs. Those same pilots will also pay more to upgrade, renew, or request a duplicate copy of their pilot's licenses.
FAA officials say their proposal will answer a fundamental problem: The ascent of low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines has made ticket taxes not as profitable or dependable as they once were. Business aircraft, meanwhile, have become more prevalent in the skies in recent years, while not picking up a representative share of the trust-fund contribution.
The proposed changes would be seismic for the general aviation community, which fought off a similar bid to create user fees in 1997. These days they don't pay to use domestic airspace. Costs for pilot's licenses and renewals, typically about $5, would also jump to $120, a sum FAA officials say just covers the processing costs.
"We're getting letters and phone calls every day from our members–the small-community businesses in places like Hines County, Miss.,–telling us these fees will force them to give up flying all together," says Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, who compares the tensions in the aviation community now to "a civil war in Washington."
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