US House T&I Committee Chairman Bill Shuster unveils 'Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017'

Americas Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) confirmed (22-Sep-2017) US House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster unveiled a bill titled 'Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017' to extend the Airport Improvement Programme (AIP) and aviation excise taxes for another six months. Highlights include:

• Excise taxes and funding for US FAA programmes
  • Aviation Excise Taxes and Trust Fund: The bill would extend aviation excise taxes and Airport and Airway Trust Fund expenditure authority through 31-Mar-2018;
  • Airport Improvement Programme: The short term FAA extension would provide approximately more than USD1.67 billion for AIP through 31-Mar-2018 - or about half of the USD3.35 billion that US Congress authorised appropriated for the programme in FY2017;
  • US FAA Operations: The bill includes more than USD5 billion for US FAA Operations for the first half of FY2018;
  • Facilities and Equipment: The bill includes more than USD1.4 billion for facilities and equipment;
  • Research, Engineering & Development (RE&D): The bill includes more than USD88 million for RE&D.
• Airport Improvement Programme:
  • Minimum Entitlement: The bill would continue to allow certain primary airports to continue to receive their minimum AIP entitlement in FY2018 even if their passenger boardings dip below the 10,000 threshold. The provision is aimed at helping airports that have experienced commercial air service reductions because of the pilot shortage;
  • Competitive Access Reports: Current law requires a large and medium hub airport to file semi-annual competition disclosure reports if the airport was unable to accommodate an airline's request for access to gates or other facilities. The bill would extend that grant assurance through the end of Mar-2018;
  • Compatible Land Use: Current law allows US Department of Transportation (US DoT) to make grants from the noise and environmental set aside to states and units of local governments for compatible land use plans for areas around large and medium hub airports. The bill would extend that authority for another six months;
  • Pilot Program for Redevelopment of Airport Properties: The US FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 required the US FAA to establish a pilot programme that allows up to four airports to receive grants from the noise and environmental set aside to redevelop airport properties. The bill would extend the pilot programme through 31-Mar-2017;
  • Disadvantaged Business Enterprise: The last FAA reauthorisation bill required the DoT Inspector General to submit an annual report to Congress on the number of new small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals that participated in US FAA programmes. The short term extension would expand that requirement through FY2018;
  • Midway Island: Current law allows the Secretary of Transportation to enter into a reimbursable agreement with the Secretary of the Interior to fund airport development at Midway Island. The bill would extend that provision through 31-Mar-2018;
  • Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau: Current law allows airports in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to be eligible to receive AIP grants from the small airport and discretionary funds. The bill would extend that eligibility through the end of Mar-2018;
• Small Community Programmes
  • Contract Towers: The bill includes approximately USD5.2 million for the contract tower cost share programme - roughly half of the current funding level of USD10.35 million;
  • Essential Air Service: The bill authorizes about USD74.8 million for the Essential Air Service programme - about half the amount Congress appropriated for the program in FY2017. The bill would also extend a provision in current law related to mileage calculations to preserve service to certain EAS communities;
  • Small Community Air Service: The bill would authorize about USD5 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Programme - half of the USD10 million that Congress appropriated for the program in FY2017;
• Miscellaneous
  • Contract Weather Observers: The extension would continue to prevent the US FAA from discontinuing the Contract Weather Observer programme at any airport until 01-Apr-2018;
  • Consumer Protections: The last US FAA reauthorisation bill required DoT to establish an Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection. The Committee is slated to terminate at the end of the fiscal year, but the stopgap measure would extend that Committee's operations through 31-Mar-2018. [more - original PR]