Politicians from both sides of the aisle have criticized the state of airports in the United States. In 2014, Joe Biden said of walking through LaGuardia: “I must be in some third world country.” Donald Trump echoed this criticism during his presidential campaign, targeting New York City area airports and LAX.
Is this merely political rhetoric or are the problems at U.S. airports real?
The biggest worry for U.S. airports is not making cosmetic changes to terminals; it is keeping up with the air travel industry’s rapid growth. The fear is that bureaucracy in Washington could put U.S. airports' development far behind the rest of the world.
Traffic is about to rise significantly
According to the IATA, the world is on the cusp of an air travel boom, and preparing for this should be job number one for airports. The trade organization’s projections suggest that much of the growth in air travel will take place in Asia.
However, the United States will also see a significant spike in passenger numbers. The number of commercial passengers will almost double over the next two decades. By 2035, 1.1 billion Americans will fly every year. That is an increase of 484 million compared to the current number of annual fliers.
Erik Hansen, senior director of domestic policy at U.S. Travel, says that the issue is more pressing than even the IATA's projections suggest: "Within the next five years, 20 of the top 30 airports in the U.S. will have Thanksgiving-like passenger volume on a weekly basis."
Hansen also thinks that overcrowded airports are already causing business travelers headed to busy Northeastern hubs to think twice about flying because of the strong possibility that they could encounter delays and cancelations.
FAA realizes development is needed
In a budget proposal earlier this year, the FAA underlined how the commercial aviation industry directly and indirectly affects the US economy. “Civil aviation contributes roughly $1.5 trillion annually to the national economy and constitutes 5.4 percent of the gross domestic product. Aviation generated more than 11.8 million jobs, with earnings of $459 billion. Aviation enables the economic benefits of tourism, shipping and travel for business or pleasure.”
Recently, the FAA has focused on things like NextGen air traffic control systems, which could help make airport operations more efficient and safer. Unfortunately for those in favor of such developments, NextGen has proven controversial and was not part of the latest FAA reauthorization bill.
However, the fact that the FAA is pushing for more efficiency and safety features means that these subjects will remain an important part of air travel debates in the future.
The FAA does, to some extent, put its money wher its mouth is when it comes to infrastructure development. It supports development and maintenance projects with grants given through its Airport Improvement Program (AIP). A large number of grants are given to airports each year to help fund expansion and upkeep. For example, this year’s awards include $25 million for a runway expansion at Chicago O’Hare and $11.5 million for Charlotte Douglas to repair taxiways and aprons. Many of the FAA’s AIP grants go to smaller airports and are for amounts of less than $1 million.
