Washington D.C. (Feb. 3, 2012) - We are very pleased that agreement on a final FAA Reauthorization Bill has been reached and are hopeful it will pass the House and Senate by next week. This bill offers significant benefits to the aviation industry including stability, predictability, and a path toward implementation of NextGen air traffic management and unmanned operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). 

Stability for the FAA.  After more than 5 years and 23 extensions, passing the FAA Reauthorization Bill will enable both government and industry to plan long term and operate in a predictable, more efficient manner instead of dealing with the uncertainty of each brief extension.  It will also provide the FAA with key milestones it must meet, thus making the agency more accountable to the industry and the public.

NextGen Equipage.  The bill’s overall focus on acceleration of NextGen technologies and streamlined certification processes will help expedite implementation of key programs like Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), Required Navigation Performance (RNP), Data Communications and other technologies which will reduce congestion and delays, save fuel, and, most importantly, increase safety.

Facilitating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations in the NAS.  We are very pleased that Congress is placing their support behind the integration of UAS into the National Airspace.  Provisioning for multiple UAS designated flight test areas throughout the US, and other important UAS acceleration measures, will expedite the ability to one day fly UAS in commercial airspace. The commercial UAS segment is poised to be the “next big thing” in civil aviation. Its growth will benefit our industry, increase jobs and stimulate the economy. It will also enable the use of life-saving applications for UAS, such as disaster recovery and fire-fighting.  

We believe the passage of this bill is fundamentally critical to national and international aviation.