AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - August 2017 - 30

AOPA ACTION

AOPA opposes House ATC
privatization proposal
Senate funding bill leaves ATC as part of FAA
THE U.S. SENATE and U.S. House of
Representatives have vastly different views of
the future of the FAA. With funding running out
soon and a long-term FAA spending plan long
overdue, the House in June introduced a proposal that would strip air traffic control out of
the FAA and give it to a private nonprofit corporation. A privatization proposal announced
by President Donald Trump had included user
fees, but the House proposal does not include
user fees on general aviation. The Senate bill,
released just a day later, leaves ATC intact.
The Senate legislation would extend FAA
funding authorization for four years, through
September 2021, and includes the FLIGHT
Act, as well as GA pilot protections from the
Pilot's Bill of Rights 2.
AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker
said AOPA supports the Senate bill. "AOPA
supports the Senate FAA reauthorization
legislation which will allow the U.S. air traffic control system to continue to be the safest
and most efficient in the world, preserves the
public benefit that access to aviation brings to
rural communities, gives local airports more

ACTION IN THE STATES

BAKER ON
THE NEWS
" We a p p l a u d P r e s i d e n t
Trump's calls to invest and
improve our nation's infrastructure, including our
airports. However, the United
States has a very safe air traffic
system today and we don't hear
complaints from our nearly
350,000 members about it."
-AOPA President Mark Baker

CITY OF SANTA MONICA VOTES
TO SHORTEN RUNWAY
California's Santa Monica City Council
unanimously chose an option to reduce the
length of its municipal runway from nearly
5,000 feet to 3,500 feet, as permitted under
a settlement agreement with the FAA that
also allows the city to close the airport in
2028. The effort will cost the city about $4
million, on top of its ongoing expenditures
for legal battles over the proposed closing of
the historic airport. AOPA General Counsel
Ken Mead stressed that AOPA will continue
to fight any efforts to close the airport and
will work with elected officials and pilots
to keep it open.
www.aopa.org/pilot/SMOrunway
30 | AOPA PILOT August 2017

flexibility to build and repair infrastructure,
provides pilots more common-sense protections, and further facilitates the important role
general aviation plays in emergencies."
Meanwhile, AOPA and five other general
aviation industry organizations issued a joint
statement opposing the House's ATC privatization proposal. The GA groups took issue with
the proposed ATC governing board and what it
would mean for GA. While acknowledging that
the bill would not impose user fees on any segment of GA, the groups expressed concern that
the protections for GA could be removed from
the proposed new structure.
"A privatization proposal that requires protections for a large segment of aviation has a high
potential for unintended consequences, as well
as increased costs and uncertainty," Baker said.
The statement thanked Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep.
Bill Shuster for his "meaningful and thoughtful" work to improve ATC, but went on to say
privatization "will produce uncertainty and
unintended consequences without achieving
the desired outcomes."

AOPA SUPPORTS SECOND FBO
AT JACKSON HOLE
The Jackson Hole Airport Board unanimously passed a resolution authorizing
a second fixed-base operation (FBO) on
the Wyoming field, a move AOPA has
advocated for through its work to promote reasonable and fair FBO pricing and
access nationwide. AOPA received numerous complaints about the airport as part of
an effort to collect data from members and
the public. According to one complaint, the
current FBO, Jackson Hole Aviation, has
the highest prices, compared to five other
airports within 50 miles. Avgas is currently
listed as $6.69 per gallon; Jet A at $6.66.
www.aopa.org/pilot/JacksonHoleFBO

AOPA ATTENDS MASSACHUSETTS
AVIATION EVENT
Aviation took the spotlight at the
Massachusetts State House in Boston for
"On The Hill" Advocacy Day hosted by
the Massachusetts Airport Management
Association, and AOPA was on hand. The
event drew a record number of state lawmakers, said AOPA Eastern Regional
Manager Sean Collins. "AOPA supports
state advocacy days across the country
to promote and protect airports and local
aviation industries," he said. "The annual
event serves as a regular opportunity to
connect with the people who put aviation
on the map in their states."
www.aopa.org/pilot/MassStateHouse

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/SMOrunway http://www.aopa.org/pilot/JacksonHoleFBO http://www.aopa.org/pilot/MassStateHouse

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - August 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - August 2017