CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Congress works to update funding and priorities for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Senator Ted Budd visited Charlotte's two major airports Monday.
Budd, a Republican member of Congress representing North Carolina, met with Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials during a tour of the city-owned airport Monday morning. He also met with leadership from American Airlines, which uses the airport as one of its major hubs.
Budd also visited Concord-Padgett Regional Airport, which offers public flights through Allegiant Airlines and hosts private flights and cargo carriers.
"A lot of it comes back to... workforce in general," Budd said. "We need employees. We need folks that are taking a look at the option to be maintenance technicians, A&P mechanics, airframe and powerplant.”
In February, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure began the process to reauthorize the FAA. The current authorization, which was signed into law in 2018 and expires during the Fiscal Year of 2023, provides jurisdiction, operational authority, and funding to the FAA.
In their initial meeting, the committee did note that while there have been no passenger fatalities on a scheduled domestic flight in the past 11 years, several U.S. airports have recently experienced issues with airplanes nearly colliding on runways.
The FAA also had to issue an emergency ground stop for all domestic flights in January after suffering a major computer glitch.
Earlier this month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined leaders with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and others for the impromptu safety summit after, they said, at least half a dozen incidents were reported in recent months.
Alan Stephens, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the National Air Transportation Association, said many of the more than 3,700 members their group represents would like to see more investment into safety management systems to help with air travel.
"If someone was picking up the phone and calling to…travel from point a to point b and do it privately, they’re going to be talking to someone within our industry," Stephens said. "Let's not wait around for the next event. Let's figure out what the next event could be based upon what the safety data is telling us."
Thursday, the White House proposed $16.5 billion for the agency, up from the $15.2 billion the FAA received in fiscal 2023, CNBC reports.
President Joe Biden's pick to run the FAA finally got a hearing earlier this month on his nomination, with Democrats praising him as a skilled leader of large transportation bureaucracies while Republicans called him unqualified because of his relatively thin aviation experience.
If confirmed by the Senate, Phillip Washington would take over the agency as it deals with safety concerns.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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