Greetings! First, Here is an update from Washington, D.C. In late July both Houses of Congress moved forward on FAA reauthorization, which has been subject to continuing resolutions for two years. The House passed H.R. 3288, its DOT/FAA spending bill which provides $3.515 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and some $175 million for the Essential Air Service Program, $53 million above 2009 funding. The bill does not contain funding for the Small Community Air Service Development Program.
The Senate, meanwhile, passed S.1451, its reauthorization legislation that would increase AIP funding to $4.1 billion by 2011, but does not offer a hike in the passenger facility charge cap, now set at $4.50.
Secondly, The General Aviation industry, which each year contributes an average of $150 billion to the economy, lost 19,000 jobs over the past year, and among the industry’s biggest coming challenges is the implantation of NextGen – financial incentives may help, says General Aviation Manufactures Association (GAMA). The organization last Thursday October 29, 2009 told a House Subcommittee on Aviation that steps necessary for putting NextGen in place “will be imperative in helping realize long-term safety, capacity, economic and environmental benefits, “ GAMA said. But user confidence is key, meaning, in the words of GAMA Vice President of operations Jens Hennig, that “equipage will only take place when users are confident about the potential for benefits,” until then, GAMA supports financial incentives for operators. Meanwhile, the industry is pushing ahead with investments in NextGen avionics like Required Navigation Performance data communications, and ADS-B. Those pieces of the puzzle not only help develop NextGen, but also stimulate economic growth and employment. There are potential bottlenecks in the future.
Thirdly, following is an update concerning Missouri Aviation. Here is the only list of current bills as follows: