Here Is What Is Missing From The FAA Reauthorization Bill

30.04.2024 - 14:27 / forbes.com

On Monday, lawmakers revealed a bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization deal that includes measures to address the nation’s shortage of air traffic controllers and the recent spate of runway near-misses. Lawmakers also agreed to prohibit airlines from charging extra for families to sit together, and they tripled the maximum fines imposable on airlines that violate consumer laws.

But the draft legislation does not include a controversial increase in the pilot retirement age that airlines say would help ease the pilot shortage, nor does it include consumer protections proposed by the Biden administration, including a requirement that airlines provide automatic cash refunds when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

The draft legislation emerging from the House and Senate committees overseeing the FAA would authorize more than $105 billion in appropriations for the FAA and $738 million in appropriations for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) through 2028. The legislation would replace the temporary law overseeing the FAA that is set to expire on May 10.

Here are some key issues the legislation tries to tackle—and some that Congress is kicking further down the tarmac.

The FAA has been facing a persistent air traffic controller shortage, with estimates of up to 3,000 more controllers needed over the next decade. At some airports, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover staffing shortages. Fatigue has been blamed for a series of near-miss incidents and flight delays.

As drafted, the law would require the FAA to study the issue and increase access to training simulators in more air traffic control towers nationwide. The legislation would require the FAA to hire and train as many air traffic controllers as necessary to address the staffing shortage.

Winners: Hiring more controllers is a win for everyone.

When investigating any airline crash or near-miss, NTSB investigators want to listen to the audio from the cockpit to try to glean clues from verbal communication or sounds, such as mechanical noises or alarms that might be overheard. The NTSB says that too often that audio is not preserved for investigators, making it much harder to get to the bottom of what happened. Currently in the United States, the audio from cockpit voice recordings is overwritten after just two hours—well short of the 25 hours mandated in Europe and other regions.

The FAA reauthorization legislation mandates a “zero tolerance” for near misses and runway incursions but only requires the FAA to “consider” the recommendation of the aviation rulemaking committee to record the most recent 25 hours of data.

Winners: The NTSB has been recommending this change