The countdown to September 30, when the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding mandate expires, has brought a predictable surge in the rhetoric over how to pay for the $30bn overhaul of an air traffic control system that all sides agree has long been in need of updating.
The plans outlined by the FAA this year to switch from reliance largely on ticket taxes collected by commercial airlines to user fees imposed on all areas of the aviation business have created an outcry from the powerful business and general aviation lobbies.
