The House and Senate have reached an agreement on an oft-delayed FAA reauthorization bill that would provide $105 billion in funding through September 2028.
The deal sets the stage for floor votes on the reconciled bill before the latest FAA funding extension expires on May 10.
The wide-ranging bill contains measures designed to increase aviation safety, address the shortage of air traffic controllers, introduce consumer protections, increase air travel accessibility and modernize airports.
The bill also offers a partial antidote to ASTA's concerns about a new DOT regulation that makes travel agencies responsible for paying airline refunds if they are the merchant of record for a transaction, even when the airline is in possession of the funds.
One of the bill's notable safety measures is increasing the required retention time for cockpit recordings to 25 hours, up from two hours. The bill would also require the FAA to increase hiring of aircraft manufacturing safety inspectors.
For consumers, the bill would forbid airlines from charging fees for families that that sit together. It would also mandate airlines to accept vouchers and flight credits for at least five years.
Among the air travel accessibility measures in the bill is one requiring training for airline personnel on safely storing wheelchairs.
For airports, the bill would increase annual Airport Improvement Program funding over the next five years, from $3.35 billion to $4 billion.
The bill also includes various measures geared toward improving the technical efficacy of the air traffic control system as well as improving hiring and retention.
On issues related to travel advisors, the bill establishes the Passenger Experience Advisory Committee within the DOT, with representation for travel agencies.
On airline refunds, the earlier House version of the bill would have solved that issue by only placing agencies on the hook for a refund if they are still holding the funds. Under the unified bill, the DOT would be required to issue regulations within one year requiring airlines to promptly transfer funds to ticket agents.
ASTA vice president of advocacy Jessica Klement said the provision is helpful compared to the DOT rule. But she noted that the FAA has often taken much longer than the time period mandated by Congress to implement new regulations.
"This is better than no language at all," she said.
The unified FAA bill also addresses pilot training. Gone is a provision from the House bill that would have raised the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67. But the bill does the set the stage for the FAA to set-up proscribed pilot training pathways that could potentially streamline the training process.