General Aviation Groups Remain United in Opposition to H.R. 2997

Washington, DC – The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today joined 33 other general aviation groups in issuing the following joint statement in opposition to the air traffic control privatization proposal included in the 21st Century Aviation, Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act:

General Aviation is an important American industry that generates over $219 billion in total economic output, supports 1.1 million jobs, and includes a network of thousands of airports and heliports that connect many rural communities to the rest of the world.

After a thorough and detailed review of Chairman Bill Shuster’s (R-PA) proposal, H.R. 2997, the AIRR Act of 2017, which would remove our nation’s air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), we have concluded that these reforms will produce uncertainty and unintended consequences without achieving the desired outcomes.

While we enjoy the safest most efficient air traffic control system in the world, we also believe that reforms, short of privatization, can better address the FAA’s need to improve its ability to modernize our system.

We have concluded that any structural and governance reforms that require protections for an important sector of users is fundamentally flawed. In addition, the billions of dollars and time that would be spent transitioning our nation’s air traffic control system to a not-for-profit entity can be better applied to the continuing progress to update and modernize our air traffic control system – including meeting the FAA’s mandate to equip the general aviation fleet with see-and-avoid (ADS-B) technology by 2020.

Moreover, with strong bipartisan opposition in both the House and Senate to remove air traffic control operations from the FAA, we believe efforts should focus on developing a long-term FAA Reauthorization that creates the stability and funding necessary and that can reach the President’s desk for signature. We are committed to addressing needed reforms that create predictable and stable funding for the FAA including biennial budgeting, consolidating unneeded and outdated facilities, procurement, and certification reforms, and putting to use some of the balance from the Airways and Airport Trust Fund to expedite technology deployment. We are ready and willing to work with all industry stakeholders and Congress to advance the consensus needed to improve our current system and to ensure that our nation’s air traffic control system remains the envy of the world.

ABS Air Safety Foundation

Air Care Alliance

Aircraft Electronics Association

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Alaska Airmen Association

Association of Air Medical Services

California Pilots Association

Cardinal Flyers Association

Cessna Flyer Association

Cessna Pilots Association

Cessna Pilots Society

Citation Jet Pilot Association

Classic Jet Aircraft Association

Commemorative Air Force

Experimental Aviation Association

Flight School Association of North America

General Aviation Manufacturers Association

Glasair Aircraft Owners Association

Helicopter Association International

International Council of Air Shows

Kansas Pilots

Kentucky Aviation Association

Lancair Owners and Builders Organization

Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association

Minnesota Pilots Association

Mooney Summit

National Air Transportation Association

National Association of State Aviation Officials

National Business Aviation Association

Piper Flyer Association

Recreational Aviation Foundation

Soaring Society of America

South Dakota Pilots Association

Tennessee Aviation Association

Veterans Airlift Command

Washington Pilots Association

See the statement in PDF form.

For additional information, please contact Sarah McCann, GAMA Director of Communications, at +1 (202) 637-1375 or smccann@gama.aero.

GAMA is an international trade association representing over 100 of the world’s leading manufacturers of general aviation airplanes and rotorcraft, engines, avionics, components and related services. GAMA’s members also operate repair stations, fixed based operations, pilot and maintenance training facilities and manage fleets of aircraft. For more information, visit GAMA’s website at www.GAMA.aero.