Paine Field in Everett (photos by Ryan Harris)
The more than $100 billion bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration is still in the works in both houses of Congress.
The aviation industry will need tens of thousands of new workers, so the bill includes some money for workforce training, which will mean more workers for aircraft builders and suppliers in our area.
Northwest Newsradio asked Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA 2nd District) what’s in the bill to reduce the hundreds of flight delays and cancellations we’ve seen recently, and he says while we can’t control the weather, there is one area we can control. Larsen cited recent weather delays at the three New York-area airports, which he also points out are part of a complex system with all three operating in such close proximity. “One thing that the bill does is requires the FAA to staff up their air traffic controller workforce to the recommended level that both the airlines and the [air traffic controllers] union all agree on,” Larsen says, “and the FAA now needs to hire, fund and staff up to that level so that you don’t have a shortage of workers at some of these high-intensity airports.” Larsen says while we can’t control the weather, the right number of controllers could have helped. He also put the onus on airlines to plan when they know weather delays are coming, which he says they can do better now with more sophisticated equipment.” Larsen also says that while a full staff of controllers would not solve major weather issues, he says it could go a long way in alleviating them.
One of the items Larsen talked about with Paine Field officials is the transition from firefighting foam containing harmful “forever chemicals”, known as PFAS, which can last for thousands of years without degrading naturally in the environment, are hard to destroy and which are harmful to people. Some money to help airports make that change is in the Senate version of the bill, but Larsen says it’s not in the House version, so he expects some in the Senate will try to encourage House members to add amendments to bring the two bills closer to each other.
The bill also contains money for the transition to sustainable fuels, including infrastructure for smaller electric planes, hydrogen-powered planes and, for smaller airports like Paine Field or Arlington, the shift to unleaded general aviation fuels. Larsen says, “Delivering unleaded fuel probably isn’t much different than delivering leaded fuel, but to the extent that it is, it would require some infrastructure changes at airports. Airports will be able to use future dollars to make those changes.”
Larsen says FAA reauthorization is due on the House floor in a couple of weeks. Then they’ll have to hammer out differences with the Senate.