In 2008, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines will continue to engage industry stakeholders, Congress, passengers and the flying and shipping public to respond to the urgent need to modernize the air traffic control system and provide a reliable, fair and appropriate funding stream in order to pay for the ATC services provided by the FAA.

Delays plagued the system in 2007, especially during the peak summer travel period. Without ATC modernization, FAA is forecasting for delays to increase by more than 60% by 2014 over 2004 levels. According to the FAA, the cost to the U.S. economy without modernization is expected to top $22 billion per year by 2020.

Operations in the New York-New Jersey region have been under public scrutiny, receiving a great deal of negative attention by the media because of rising delays at airports in that region. But the issue of airspace congestion is not new; in fact, airlines raised this very issue and called for New York airspace redesign almost a decade ago. The unfortunate reality is that New York area congestion is only a leading indicator of problems looming in other parts of the country if our nation does not rapidly transform the antiquated ground-based ATC system to a satellite-based system.

The technologies to make this transformation are available today – it is simply a matter of organization, direction and appropriation prioritization to get them in place to meet consumer demand for air transportation. At the same time, of course, the industry will continue to emphasize the need for a fair, reliable and dynamic funding system in which all major system users pay their appropriate allocated share of system costs. 

To accomplish this, the airlines will continue to push Congress to reauthorize the Airport and Airways Trust Fund to provide the funding mechanism necessary to move forward with the plan for a NextGen system; a system which, when in place, will allow for more efficient air navigation. The industry is especially focused on this benefit for 2008 – and beyond – so that the airline industry can continue its environmental initiatives. Since 1978, U.S. airlines have improved their fuel efficiency by 103 percent and currently contribute less than 3 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. ATA airline members have committed to an additional 30 percent fuel efficiency improvement by 2025. Congress needs to do its part in allowing for more efficient routing so that airlines can continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing fuel burn through needless delays.

With the focus currently on the New York area delay situation, and the world's increasing focus on environmental issues, it is obviously important that both the industry and government move quickly to address those concerns. While there is no "silver bullet," it is clear that a suite of short- and mid-term actions, which could be put in place before next summer's capacity crunch, will go a long way toward alleviating delays. Airlines have proposed a variety of action items and are now working with the FAA to establish their priorities and seek assurance that government resources will be applied to accomplish those priorities.