Smith Reintroduces Small Airport Relief Act

Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) reintroduced the Small Airport Regulation Relief Act today. This bill would assist small, rural airports threatened by a pilot shortage caused in part by federal regulations requiring co-pilots to have at least 1,500 hours of flight time.

Smith’s legislation would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use enplanement numbers from calendar year 2012 when calculating appropriate annual funds for airports through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016. It would ensure those airports which reached 10,000 enplanements in 2012 – before the new regulations – could use the enplanement numbers from that year.

“Many small airports around the country, and especially in Nebraska’s Third District, are facing a barrage of flight cancellations,” Congressman Smith said. “This is being caused in part by new federal regulations and continues to reduce enplanements. The rising number of cancelled flights prevents many of these airports from meeting the requirements to receive AIP funding even though they have qualified in the past. This bill would ensure small airports are not penalized twice under these regulations and help them obtain the resources they need to continue serving our rural communities.”

The Airport Improvement Program provides funds for projects to improve infrastructure, including runways, taxiways, aprons, noise control, land purchases, navigational aids, safety and security.