U.S. Chamber Praises New Runways as Step Toward Improving Travel and Air Freight Business

Continued Progress on Infrastructure Depends on Quick Appointment of New FAA Administrator and Long-Term Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today said that the opening of three major runways in Washington D.C., Chicago, and Seattle demonstrates the importance of investing in the nation's critical transportation infrastructure needs.

New runways are being dedicated on Thursday, November 20th, at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., and the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Together, these three runways will be able to handle 330,000 additional aircraft operations a year, according to estimates from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"These runways are the kind of long-term thinking and investment we need to strengthen America's air traffic system and reduce delays for passengers and freight," said Carol Hallett, of counsel for the U.S. Chamber and former president and CEO of the Air Transport Association of America. "They are a major step toward reducing airport delays, and boosting productivity. This will benefit the environment while helping airlines become more financially stable."

The U.S. Chamber called on President-elect Barack Obama to quickly nominate a new administrator for the FAA, and for Congress to confirm the nominee as soon as possible, noting that FAA has been without a confirmed administrator since September 2007. In addition, the Chamber urged Congress to pass the long-term authorization bill for the FAA next year, after more than a year of temporary extensions.

Airline passenger traffic is expected to increase by 36% by 2015, and the Chamber has called for the FAA and Congress to expedite air traffic control modernization, provide necessary investments to increase national aviation system capacity, and move ahead with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative by deploying state-of-the-art ground, air, and satellite-based technologies as soon as possible.

"Congress and the FAA must to work together to update our aviation system," Hallett said. "Only by modernizing our air traffic control system can our nation meet the projected growth in passengers and freight."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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