REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
“AVIATION CONGESTION AND THE WAY FORWARD: NO MORE DELAY”
AERO CLUB OF WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JANUARY 22, 2008
NOON
Good afternoon. Thank you, Susan Sheets, for that kind introduction, and I know
that you are going to do an absolutely fantastic job leading the Aero Club this
year.
I would also like to recognize key members of the Department of Transportation’s
leadership team who are here this afternoon: General Counsel D.J. Gribbin, and
Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Bobby Sturgell. And it is great to have
Bobby’s predecessor, Marion Blakey, here, as well as Andy Steinberg, who, until
just last Friday, was our Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International
Affairs.
We are also losing our Under Secretary of Policy, Jeff Shane, at end of the
month as many of you know. Jeff has been such an asset to the Department. We
will greatly miss him, but I know he will keep his hands in the aviation
industry.
I see many good friends in the audience, and I thank you all for that wonderful
welcome. It has been quite a year since I stood before this group last January
to talk about my priorities for aviation – and, by many measures, a successful
one.
We have achieved tremendous progress in opening markets around the world. I
signed a new “Open Skies” agreement with Canada last spring. We arrived at a new
aviation agreement with China during the first U.S. meeting of the Strategic
Economic Dialogue. And under our landmark agreement with the EU, we are lifting
restrictions on trans-Atlantic travel in March.
U.S. airlines and U.S. businesses are capitalizing on the new opportunities that
open markets bring. And the biggest winners are the millions of people who now
enjoy greater freedom and more affordable options to travel.
Even as opening international markets fuels greater demand for air travel, we
have reached new heights in aviation safety. Our air traffic controllers,
technicians, and inspectors have worked hard to make this the safest five-year
period in aviation history.
And let me also extend my personal thanks and congratulations to our airlines.
The National Transportation Safety Board just reported that in 2007, for only
the second time in two decades, the domestic industry did not have a single
passenger fatality or major accident.
Still, the recent incident in San Francisco and the near misses in Atlanta and
Newark remind us that safety challenges remain. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But
clearly, runway incursions are an area that need focus – and fast.
That is why I have asked Acting Administrator Sturgell to convene meetings with
top executives from all the air carriers. Just a week ago today, he held a
national teleconference with them to lay out where we need to go. We will be
following up with meetings with top airline officials this week. Then our
principal inspectors and the airline Chief Pilots will visit at their base of
operations in February. We want to bring everyone together and figure out how to
fix this.
Busy runways, loaded taxiways, and crowded skies are all signs of the building
strength of our industry. But that resurgence brings growing pains, as we are
clearly seeing in the New York region and across the system.
Delays and customer complaints reached record levels in 2007. The President has
made it clear that he will not tolerate a repeat of the travel nightmares
passengers experienced last summer, and he is personally committed to rooting
out the congestion and delays that are plaguing air travel today.
We are attacking the problem from all angles – using the authority we have and
working closely with the airlines and other stakeholders to bring passengers
short-term relief.
Opening “Holiday Fast Lanes” in military airspace was successful in easing
backups at Thanksgiving and Christmas – and I want to thank Bobby for
successfully negotiating with the Defense Department for that additional
flexibility.
We are taking aggressive actions in the New York area, a major source of delays.
These include prioritizing operational and capacity improvements, temporarily
capping the number of hourly flights at JFK and Newark to bring them more into
line with airport capacity, and establishing an executive-level aviation “Czar”
for the region to keep everything on track in one of the most complex aviation
environments in the world.
We have put out a series of proposed rules that will help passengers know what
to expect when they book a flight, allow us to step up oversight of chronically
delayed flights, and enhance protections for consumers who are bumped,
experience delays, or have other complaints against airlines.
And today, I am naming members to the special Tarmac Delay Task Force whose
assignment is to make sure airlines and airports do a better job coordinating
with one another on how to handle lengthy tarmac delays and the unexpected
weather events that can strand thousands at airports.
This follows last week’s announcement of proposed changes to our policy on
landing fees designed to empower airports to use pricing to encourage more
efficient use of their airfields, reduce congestion, and attract additional
resources to expand capacity.
I appreciate that not all of you agree with every step we have taken – you
certainly haven’t been shy about letting me know it.
All of us can agree, however, that we have got to do much more than just treat
the symptoms of the problem. We need to address the long-term capacity issues
facing our aviation system.
We are spending our time fighting over quick fixes, while Congress drags its
feet on real solutions. That needs to change.
Congress has had a proposal for nearly one year that would expand the capacity
of the system to accommodate the passengers who are traveling today – and those
who are coming in the future.
The bill we sent them is a radical departure from the status quo of broken
policies and taxes that have produced the current congestion crisis. It uses
market forces more effectively at airports to address delays. It modernizes how
we pay for airports and will allow us to overhaul the nation’s air traffic
control system.
We have got to upgrade our outdated air traffic control system with
satellite-based NextGen technology if we are going to get ahead of the
congestion problem. I can tell you that Admiral Tom Barrett, the Department’s
Deputy Secretary, and Acting Administrator Sturgell are stepping up the pressure
on everyone involved with NextGen to start delivering tangible results for the
traveling public.
We reached a significant milestone last year with the FAA’s contract for the
satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) system and
its proposed rule for equipping aircraft with ADS-B avionics.
We are already getting a first glimpse of the powerful ADS-B technology in
action. UPS is using it to guide planes more efficiently at its WorldPort Hub in
Louisville, and to help manage noise, emissions, and fuel consumption.
The technology is there. But the support from Congress isn’t. Their inaction on
our proposal leaves us without the funding reforms we need to transform the
system.
Worse, while Congress continues to play politics with our reauthorization, come
March 1st we may not be able to invest in critical NextGen technologies and
demonstration projects as planned for 2008.
NextGen is not the only thing jeopardized by congressional inaction on an
aviation bill. As of December 31st, the Airport Improvement Program has been
effectively shut down.
That means no new grants for airport expansion and runway safety projects or to
help smaller airports improve centerline markings on taxiways to prevent runway
incursions. There is no excuse for Congress to short-change safety.
And quite honestly, I am a little tired of all the noise from Capitol Hill about
how bad aviation delays are when they are sitting on the sidelines in Washington
while passengers sit waiting in airports and on taxiways across the country.
The congressional hold-ups are not limited to the aviation bill; they extend to
key appointments like the confirmation of Bobby Sturgell as the next FAA
Administrator.
Everyone knows Bobby is superbly qualified for the position, and he is doing a
great job in his capacity as Acting Administrator. But he needs the full
authority that comes with confirmation to properly deal with the safety and
capacity issues that are so key to the success of the FAA.
Three months have passed since the President nominated him, and Congress has not
budged.
An impending presidential election is no excuse for suspending business in
Washington. Frankly, there isn’t an excuse good enough for playing politics with
aviation safety, aviation capacity, and aviation leadership. That is precisely
why Congress made the FAA Administrator a five-year termed appointment – so
politics would not be the driver of the process.
How much longer is Congress going to keep critical aviation issues in a holding
pattern?
How much longer will their inaction force the American people to suffer
unreliable schedules, missed connections, and lost opportunities?
How much longer will they ask Americans to pay the economic cost of congestion
and delay – already estimated at $15 billion a year?
We have arrived at the cross-roads moment when it comes to the congestion that
is clogging our airports and overwhelming our airways. Let’s join together to
bring about real change in our aviation system. It is time to end the delays in
Washington, and get travelers back on schedule.
Thank you.
# # #
Briefing
Room
