FTD: FAA Authorization Update

Mar 19, 2024

Brothers and Sisters,

On March 8, President Biden signed into law a third, short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) authorization.

Authorization will now expire on May 10. Although the short-term extension to the current authorization averted an interruption in operations for two months, we must maintain our pressure on Congress to ensure NATCA's legislative priorities are included in the final version of the five-year FAA reauthorization bill still being negotiated between the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Over the coming weeks, Congress will work to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of their respective FAA reauthorization bills. During this time, NATCA will continue to work on messaging our priorities to legislators and their staffs.

The message being delivered is twofold - first, the final version of the FAA reauthorization bill must include language that will require the FAA to conduct maximum hiring of air traffic controller candidates from 2024-2028. Second, the legislation also must include the adoption of the Collaborative Resource Workgroup (CRWG) staffing model as the basis for FAA's Controller Workforce Plan.

And while NATCA is confident that Congress will pass the five-year FAA reauthorization bill prior to the May 10 deadline, we will be prepared for a lobbying push during NATCA in Washington 2024 from May 1-3. Hundreds of NATCA political activists from across the country will visit every Senate and House office to deliver our priorities in person.

We will continue to provide you information as we get closer to the May 10 deadline.

In Solidarity,

Rich Santa
NATCA President

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