Camel, Meet Tent

Recent rants in this space discussed the FAA’s role in Washington’s ongoing budget battles and, especially, proposed low-activity tower closures. After a couple of weeks of air traffic slowdowns brought on by ATC staffing furloughs and primarily affecting airline passengers in the northeast, Congress demonstrated it can move quickly: It passed a measure basically exempting the FAA—but no other agencies—from the sequestration process and allowing it to move its money around to eliminate ATC slowdowns. So far, the FAA’s actions haven’t had a widespread impact on general aviation. That could change.

Key Takeaways:

• The FAA, recently exempted from sequestration by Congress to prevent air traffic control slowdowns, is now demanding payment from general aviation events like EAA AirVenture for ATC services, which were historically covered by the agency.
• The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) views these demands as an "alarming new direction" and a potential attempt to impose user fees on general aviation, despite long-standing Congressional opposition to such fees.
• This move by the FAA is seen as a concerning precedent, with some labeling it "extortion," as it occurs even after Congress granted the agency unique flexibility to manage its funds.

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