FAA Funding Debate
AOPA FAA Funding Debate
The FAA's arguments
FICTION: The United States is behind other countries because the FAA does not collect user fees. Imposing user fees will let the United States keep up with the rest of the world.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has said: "Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Kuwait, Namibia, Samoa, Sao Tome, and Principe, Swaziland, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu and the United States... that list represents the only countries that do not charge for the actual cost of ATC services."
FACT: The United States has the safest, most efficient aviation system in the world, and it can't be compared with other countries.
- The United States has nine times more departures than the United Kingdom, the second busiest.
- The United States has four times more airports than Brazil, the second highest.
- 68 percent of all general aviation aircraft are based and flown in the United States.
- Because of its large size and population, the United States' needs are unique.
- The U.S. economy benefits from our aviation leadership. The U.S. aviation industry is worth $190 billion and maintains an export trade surplus in aircraft, avionics, and ground systems. GA in the United States has an annual economic impact exceeding $11 billion.
