Issue / Aviation
The aviation industry plays a critical role in the American economy, and this group recognizes its vast importance. The aviation sector transports 900 million passengers every year and is responsible for $1.5 trillion in total economic activity, nearly 12 million jobs, and represents 5.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Moreover, the industry’s $83 billion trade surplus is the largest trade surplus within the U.S. economy. Tying this all together is a complex infrastructure network of airports and air traffic control operated by, among many others, millions of highly skilled pilots, mechanics and other technicians, and air traffic controllers. The tremendous collaborative effort of industry and government over the decades, translated into the safest airspace in the world. But, while the U.S. had long been considered the gold standard in aviation technology and safety, America has begun to lose its edge and is falling behind its peers. Today, congestion and delays plague U.S. airports while high-altitude traffic is guided by inefficient and old point-to-point, ground-based radar technology; qualified workers needed to meet the global demands for air travel in the next 30 years have grown increasingly scarce; and new technologies are challenging airline safety and security.
Update – The Week Ahead
Dec 08, 2014 | Jeff DavisDecember 8, 2014 – 7:30 a.m. This is the last scheduled week of session for the 113th Congress, and Congressional leaders have a...
Technology That Makes Airport Taxiing Safer Is Possible Today
Jun 25, 2014 | Carter TempletonBY CYRO STONE Director of Business Development for ACSS We are all aware of the extraordinary advances in air transportation safety...
The Federal Role in Aviation
Jun 25, 2014 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATIONCongress continues to do very little as we head toward the midterm election, but one issue that continues to come up is that of...
The U.S. Export-Import Bank: A Government Agency Worth Fighting For
May 25, 2014 | Carter TempletonBY REBECCA UFKES Executive Vice President, UEC Electronics America plays a vital role in global transportation, both as a service...
Yapping at 35,000 Feet: Should There be a Limit to Personal Electronic Freedom in the Air?
Mar 24, 2014 | Carter TempletonBY CASSIDY If you travel by air as much as I do, I am sure you cannot help but notice how angst- ridden many passengers become when...
NATCA, Fellow Aviation Leaders Agree: U.S. Aviation System Needs Reform
Feb 24, 2014 | Carter TempletonBY DOUG CHURCH Director of Communications National Air Traffic Controllers Association The omnibus budget agreement approved by...
Is It Time to Dismantle the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey?
Feb 24, 2014 | Carter TempletonBY DAVID Z. PLAVIN Like living organisms, public authorities seem to have a finite life cycle. They come into being to serve a...
2013 Transportation Weekly Archive Index
Dec 31, 2013 | Jeff Davis2013 Transportation Weekly Archive Index January 2013 January 16, 2013 issue January 21, 2013 update ...
The Future of the Airline Industry
Sep 26, 2013 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATIONLast month the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit to block the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways. The lawsuit was...
Why is Air Traffic Control a Government Function?
May 26, 2013 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATIONLast week the sequester finally began hitting Congress where it hurts – by snarling air traffic and delaying flights. The Federal...
Introducing Policy Change: The Case of Knives on Planes
Apr 26, 2013 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATIONLast month, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unveiled a plan to permit some items that had been previously banned back...
Transportation Policy Resolutions for the New Year
Jan 26, 2013 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION2013 promises to be an eventful year for federal policy-making. The entire tax code and virtually all domestic spending programs are...