The Congressional negotiators have agreed on a $105 billion bill aimed at improving the safety of air travel in the United States. The bill will increase the number of air traffic controllers and require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use new technology to prevent collisions between planes on the ground. Additionally, airlines will be prohibited from charging extra for families to sit together, although other consumer protections proposed by the Biden administration were left out. The bill was negotiated by both Republicans and Democrats who lead the House and Senate committees overseeing the FAA. This legislation will govern FAA operations for the next five years.
The Senate is expected to vote on the 1,069-page measure this week, after the House approved its version of the bill last year. During negotiations, there were disagreements over various provisions, including those related to the training and retirement age of pilots. Ultimately, negotiators dropped the House provision that sought to raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 67, keeping it at 65. There was also a narrow rejection of a proposal supported by small airlines to allow aspiring pilots to count more time spent in simulators towards reaching minimum experience standards, instead of flying planes.
The FAA currently faces a shortage of approximately 3,000 air traffic controllers across the country. The bill includes provisions to require the FAA to improve its staffing standards in order to close these gaps, such as hiring additional safety inspectors. Additionally, the bill will allow for an additional five daily round-trip flights longer than 1,250 miles to Reagan Washington National Airport. While Delta Air Lines and some Western lawmakers pushed for more, United Airlines and lawmakers in Virginia and Maryland opposed the idea, claiming that National Airport was already too busy.
Despite rejecting a proposal from consumer groups to give state officials the power to regulate airlines, the administration separately reached a deal allowing 15 mostly Democratic states to assist in enforcing federal consumer-protection rules through the U.S. Transportation Department. The negotiations also saw the removal of a provision that would have allowed aspiring pilots to count simulator time towards experience requirements, rather than flying planes. The bill is seen as a crucial step in enhancing the safety and efficiency of air travel in the United States for the next five years.
