Airport Alert: AAAE Stresses Airport Funding Needs and Pandemic Challenges in Discussion with DOT Secretary Buttigieg

This afternoon, AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli joined other aviation industry leaders and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson in a virtual listening session with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Hauptli stressed the need for more federal COVID relief for airports and our aviation partners, expressed strong opposition to a COVID testing mandate for domestic air travel, and called for efforts to "build back better" and modernize airports and airport financing approaches, including a long-overdue adjustment to the federal cap on local passenger facility charges (PFCs). Secretary Buttigieg responded that he looked forward to working to find a way to sustain funding for infrastructure development long-term. 
 
At the onset, Secretary Buttigieg thanked all of the aviation stakeholders for the leadership shown during the pandemic and commended the industry for "stepping up" in the absence of clear federal guidance relating to the pandemic. He pledged to work collaboratively with the aviation industry and said his priority is to protect aviation industry workers and the traveling public.
 
During this discussion, the potential domestic testing mandate was repeatedly raised by stakeholders, including Hauptli, who called it a "horrible idea" and stressed the need for a "commonsense approach." Secretary Buttigieg acknowledged these concerns and said that the industry had been "very effective" in raising them. He asked stakeholders to continue to provide him with examples about the impact of this potential mandate because "the input is important when DOT is at the table with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." 
 
Over the past day, AAAE has joined a coalition of 21 other aviation and travel industry associations to develop a white paper on the implications of a domestic COVID-19 testing requirement that we encourage you to use in conversations with your elected officials and others on this topic.  
 
On the international testing requirement, which went into effect on January 26, the Secretary announced that CDC has determined it is not necessary to test immediately before traveling in addition to the test required three days before a passenger boards an international flight to the United States. This had been under consideration.