Airport Business

MAY 2017

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

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20 airportbusiness May 2017 WASHINGTON WATCH By Kevin Burke, ACI-NA President & CEO Providing Regulatory Relief for Airports As a highly regulated industry, this action has posed an important question for airports: While we are fully committed to meeting high standards that provide for the safety and secu- rity of the traveling public, what opportunities exist to improve our infrastructure and reduce regulatory burdens that prevent airports from making more nimble, business-like decisions? In February, I had the privilege of partici- pating, along with a group of ACI-NA airport directors and airline executives, in a meeting with President Trump at the White House to discuss the challenges facing the aviation industry. The President engaged in discus- sions on infrastructure and air traffic control reform, but a major takeaway from the meeting was his interest in regulatory reform for the industry. The President invited us to submit our recommendations on areas where federal agencies can and should ease the burden of federal regulations so airports can operate in a more business-like manner, generate greater economic activity, create jobs, and benefit the traveling public. Since joining ACI-NA three years ago, one of my top priorities has been to impress upon the Department of Transportation the need for regula- tory relief from onerous burdens that have no impact on safety or airport operations, so we welcomed the opportunity to take a deeper dive on the President's commitment to reg- ulatory reform with new Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao in March. Our productive meeting with Secretary Chao provided us another opportunity to discuss achieving meaningful reg- ulatory relief for the airport industry. As a member driven organization, we obtained ideas from our members on their regulatory concerns. We developed a list of regulatory relief measures based on their feedback that will enable airports to operate in a more business-like manner. In order to speak as one industry voice, we consulted our industry partners at the American Association of Airport Executives W hile on the campaign trail, Donald J. Trump was an advocate for airports and the need for mod- ernized airport infrastructure. He was also an advocate for reducing regulatory burdens imposed by the federal government. In one of his first actions in office, President Trump even went so far as to sign an executive order that requires federal agencies to revoke two regula- tions for every new significant rule issued.

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