The U.S. air-traffic control system would be spun off to a nonprofit corporation and airline passengers wouldn’t be allowed to talk on mobile phones under sweeping legislation unveiled Wednesday to set aviation policy for the next six years.
The job of guiding planes would be taken away from the Federal Aviation Administration and put under the auspices of a new nonprofit funded by fees on commercial flights that would replace most current airline taxes, said Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“I believe that what we are doing is taking this organization out of a bureaucracy that doesn’t manage the costs well,” said Shuster, R-Pennsylvania. “Taking it out, I think, you can have a much more efficient corporation.”
The measure he’s introducing also would ban passengers from talking on mobile phones while in the air, force carriers to refund bag fees if luggage arrives too late and overhaul the way new aircraft are approved to make U.S. manufacturers more competitive.
The legislation will test Shuster’s reputation for mustering broad support on transportation measures in an increasingly divided Congress. The air-traffic proposals, the most far-reaching change since the current structure was created in the 1950s, are already facing opposition from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and some industry groups.
But Shuster said the measure would remove the system from political interference and federal budget woes, thereby making it more efficient and able to adopt new technology. The FAA would continue to set air-traffic regulations and provide safety oversight. He said he plans to hold a hearing next week.
“I’m somewhat confident, somewhat optimistic,” said Shuster, who announced plans to introduce the air-traffic legislation in June. “The argument is on our side to do this, to do it right.”
The legislation would prohibit voice calls on flights, which many lawmakers fear would make airline cabins even louder and chaotic, Shuster said. New technology makes mobile calls easier from the air and the Department of Transportation has asked for comments on whether to allow such calls. They currently aren’t permitted.
Airlines would also have to refund fees they charge for carrying bags on flights if the luggage arrives more than 24 hours late on domestic flights under the proposal. Airlines would have to notify families before they book tickets if they are assigned seats that aren’t together on the plane.
The last time lawmakers took up an FAA bill it was mired in years of delay that led to a partial agency shutdown in 2011 before it became law in 2012. The FAA was also disrupted in 2013 by automatic budget cuts known as sequestration triggering furloughs of air-traffic controllers and flight delays. The law authorizing the FAA allows the agency to operate through March 31.
Giving the new nonprofit the ability to raise money by fees would smooth the agency’s funding issues, Shuster said. One of the reasons some lawmakers oppose the proposal is that it would reduce their control over the agency’s budget, he said. Private aircraft owners, including business-jet operators, would be exempt from the fees, retaining existing fuel taxes so they wouldn’t pay more under the new system, he said.
The chairmen of the budget-writing appropriations committees, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, have each gone on record opposing the plan. They were joined by the highest-ranking Democrats on those committees.
“While FAA can and should improve and accelerate the development of modernized air-traffic systems, we do not believe the solution is less oversight and less accountability,” Rogers and three other Appropriations leaders wrote in a letter Monday to House leadership.
The air-traffic provision may also create uncertainty for companies building the $42 billion air-traffic upgrade known as NextGen. These companies include Harris Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co.
A similar proposal to shift control of air traffic to a corporate entity failed in the 1990s under then-President Bill Clinton after it was attacked by Democrats and unions. Since then, most of the world’s industrialized nations – including Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Germany – have shifted to such semi-private control.
Prior proposals were opposed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union representing almost 15,000 controllers. President Paul Rinaldi has said the union has softened its opposition after years of FAA budget uncertainty. He’s waiting to see details of Shuster’s plan before taking a position.
The bill proposed by Shuster contains dozens of aviation policy measures governing everything from airlines to tiny unmanned aircraft.
After lobbying by aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing Co., Shuster is proposing smoother approvals of new aircraft designs. Companies would get more leeway to sign off on the safety of equipment with their own employees instead of FAA inspectors, expanding an existing program.
Shuster has also added several provisions to speed the adoption of civilian drones. The legislation would promote more use of the six drone test sites chartered by the FAA, push for more research on technology to allow unmanned aircraft to automatically steer clear of each other and allow easier approvals for commercial use.
