WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping aviation bill late Thursday that includes increased air traffic controller staffing, increased funding to avoid runway crisis incidents and faster refunds for canceled flights.
The $105 billion, five-year measure reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration. The bill would ban airlines from charging for family members to be seated, require aircraft cockpits to be equipped with up to 25-hour recording devices, up from the current two hours, and provide advanced technology to help prevent collisions. Directs the FAA to implement airport surface technology.
The bill would add five round-trip flights a day at the busy Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and require airlines to accept vouchers and credits for at least five years.
Efforts to improve aviation safety in the United States have taken on new urgency following a series of near-miss incidents and the Jan. 5 door-plug mid-air emergency on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9.
The bill, which is expected to receive final approval in the House next week, does not raise the retirement age for pilots to 67, as lawmakers requested last year.
Earlier this week, lawmakers agreed to amend the language to ensure prompt refunds for airline passengers whose flights were canceled, who purchased nonrefundable tickets and did not seek replacement flights.
The bill would increase the maximum civil penalty for airline consumer violations from $25,000 to $75,000 per violation and require the FAA to improve staffing standards and hire inspectors, engineers, and technical experts. It aims to address a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers by directing the hiring of more air traffic controllers.
Congress will not set minimum seat size requirements, instead deferring to the FAA. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to create a dashboard that shows consumers the minimum seat sizes for each U.S. airline.
Congress also rejected a number of other consumer provisions sought by the Biden administration.
The bill also reauthorizes the National Transportation Safety Board and increases the safety review agency’s staffing. It also aims to encourage the introduction of drones and flying air taxis into the country’s airspace, and extends to the government’s existing anti-drone powers from 1 October.
