This week the traveling public faced another problem brought about by aging technology: the outage of flight planning computers in Salt Lake City which left planes grounded and travelers stuck. This is the same computer system that wrecked havoc in the summer of 2008 when it went down for an entire afternoon.
If Congress needed a poster child to pass the multi-year FAA Reauthorization (HR 915, S 1451), the FAA’s aging flight planning technology should fit the bill. The FAA has been waiting for more than two years, through seven extensions (number eight is in the offing); for the authority, funding and planning that a multiyear reauthorization bill provides. The House has done its job, as has the Senate Commerce Committee. The Senate Finance Committee needs to step to the plate and address its piece so the full Senate can consider the bill.
We cannot hope to get NextGen, a priority for this Administration in place, in our generation, let alone address the current and future infrastructure and safety needs of the traveling public without an FAA Reauthorization bill this year.
Imagine the outcome if the flight planning computers had gone down this coming Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year…Let’s hope Congress doesn’t wait until it comes to that to pass the bill.
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