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Source: Global Times

[Global Times Special Correspondent Wang Yi] The US aviation industry urged Congress to address the problem of "neglected" aviation facilities.

According to Reuters on the 16th, major U.S. aviation organizations and unions urged Congress to solve the problem of continued funding shortages for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities. American Airlines, the American Aerospace Industries Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the United Pilots Association and other organizations said in a joint letter that necessary maintenance of the existing aviation system has been neglected. They warned that failure to resolve the funding shortage means that the U.S. aviation industry will operate inefficiently and will have a negative impact on passengers and other military users.

The letter said that a quarter of all FAA facilities are 50 years old or older, and the impact of underinvestment is "becoming apparent." In January last year, the FAA pilot alert data system malfunctioned, and domestic flights in the United States were temporarily suspended. Although the suspension was subsequently lifted, tens of thousands of flights were affected.

A year has passed since this catastrophic system failure, and the problem of aging facilities has not been solved. A previous independent report pointed out that the FAA's air traffic control facilities have leaking roofs, damaged heating and air conditioning systems, and old radar monitoring systems, which must be replaced as soon as possible, and the cost may be as high as billions of dollars, but in any case, "urgent action" should be taken after a series of dangerous situations.

In addition to the problem of aging facilities, staff shortages also plague the U.S. aviation industry. The FAA hopes that Congress will allocate funds to recruit 2,000 more air traffic controllers. The continued shortage of air traffic controllers has caused flight delays, and existing employees often work six days a week to make up for the shortage.

In March this year, US President Biden proposed to invest US$8 billion over the next five years starting from 2025 to replace or modernize more than 20 aging air traffic control facilities and 377 key radar systems.