A consortium of 30 aviation groups representing the broad spectrum of the industry have written President-elect Donald Trump asking him to consider funding changes to the FAA that will give the agency the resources it needs to modernize. Specifically, the group is urging use of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to “upgrade and modernize FAA’s facilities and air traffic control equipment.” There have been concerns in the past money collected through fees and taxes for the fund have been diverted to non-aviation purposes.
The group says it has also identified efficiencies that can be achieved with procurement and deployment of the new equipment. Its proposals are also structured to “address key staffing shortages, and ensure stable and predictable funding, including multi-year budgeting, to strategically manage and deploy the FAA’s ATC assets.”
