‘The System Is Safe’: John Hickenlooper Touts Safety Of U.S. Air Travel Amid FAA Concerns

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During Wednesday’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) spoke about U.S. air travel.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. Senator Hackel-Libbert.

00:04Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for calling this.

00:07Thank each of you for all your hard work.

00:10Let me start with Mr. McIntosh.

00:13I know we've talked already.

00:16You've been asked questions about the two copper wires

00:19and the issues around Newark.

00:22I want to just take a moment and just lay out what I recognize.

00:27I mean, it seems to me I fly a lot, too much, back and forth every week.

00:33It's not uncommon that we would get diverted and circle a couple of times.

00:38The last time I checked, we're still using TCAS,

00:41the Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems,

00:45that some of my constituents have been calling in saying,

00:48are we less safe?

00:50And to me, in a funny way, what we're dealing with when we have these,

00:54what happened in Newark is people, they circle, right?

00:57It's not like they almost landed on somebody.

00:59They lost connection and their TCAS is still working.

01:02So as they circle in space, they know exactly where everyone else is

01:06and the collision avoidance system is still working.

01:09Am I correct in communicating that confidence

01:11that everyone should continue flying,

01:14feel that they are absolutely safe when they're flying?

01:16Senator Hickenlooper, absolutely people are safe when they fly.

01:19And I fly like you do every single, I fly every week.

01:24I go back and forth and I have utmost confidence in our air traffic controllers

01:28and our managers and how the system works with the redundancies put in place.

01:35I agree.

01:35I think it seems there are redundancies everywhere.

01:37Obviously, the point of this hearing is we've got a lot of infrastructure

01:42that needs to be upgraded and we've got a lot of work to do.

01:44So you guys should maybe see psychoanalysts about whether you really want these jobs or not

01:50given the restrictions on funding these days.

01:53But there's a lot to be done.

01:54But I want to emphasize that the system is safe, that people should get on planes.

01:59And it's such a crucial part of our economy when people suddenly decide they're not going to fly,

02:04that they feel uncertain about flying, the entire economy slows down.

02:09Yes, sir, it does.

02:10And from an air traffic control perspective, we love the job.

02:15What we really want is better equipment to go along with it.

02:20And that's really what it comes down to.

02:22A lot of our equipment, it is antiquated.

02:24And the FAA has been known as having the safest and most efficient airspace in the world.

02:29But we need to advance our systems to ensure we keep that standard.

02:33I agree.

02:34Perfect.

02:35Now, I want to get specific with you.

02:36We've got some rural communities like Northern Colorado Regional Airport and Fort Collins

02:42are working to be able to do their traffic control without a controller.

02:47The state of Colorado, the Northern Colorado Regional Airport,

02:51have made investments in remote tower technology.

02:54And these investments are waiting to be realized because of ongoing testing at the FAA's Technology Center in New Jersey.

02:59So can we get an update on that?

03:01And where are we and how quickly we get that stuff approved?

03:04Yes, sir.

03:04And I'm very excited about the remote towers.

03:06I think the technology is incredible.

03:08We do have a vendor at Atlantic City at the Tech Center.

03:12They are doing the safety case and the business case now.

03:15And the FAA is ready to validate that safety case, credential that system.

03:21And as soon as that occurs, then the airports will be able to go and purchase that system.

03:26I got an update just yesterday.

03:28And I believe they plan on doing an industry day sometime this summer for people to come

03:32and take a look at the new technology that's out there with how this works.

03:36And it really is an incredible...

03:37Well, that's great.

03:38And that's promotional.

03:39I want...

03:39I'm just trying to urge a sense of urgency.

03:41Yes, sir.

03:42I find a lot of my time I spend urging a sense of urgency around here.

03:46Mr. Heibeck, as you know, many regional airports are the single most important connectivity hub

03:53to the rest of their state or the rest of the country.

03:58And we work closely with Senator Fischer to enact the Sustainable Regional Air Travel Act

04:03as part of FAA reauthorization in 2024.

04:05That was obviously a bipartisan bill that commissions a federal study that will be published next month

04:10to examine those factors that impact air service to regional airports,

04:13including pilot availability, air traffic control systems we've talked about, and other issues.

04:20Can you describe what you think are the most pressing issues that regional airports are facing today?

04:26Because they are such a huge part, not just Colorado, but pretty much every western state,

04:30and really almost every state.

04:33Yes, Senator.

04:35I think the Reauthorization Act seeks to provide or expand the types of funding

04:42under the Airport Improvement Program to fund critical safety and safety infrastructure development projects

04:48at the small rural airports.

04:51And I think the funding challenges continue to persist there,

04:54but the Reauthorization Act does a really good job making some changes to the small airport fund

04:59and in other areas to focus on non-hub airports and non-primary airports.

05:07And one particular example is the state apportionment is expanded there,

05:11and I think that will help meet some of the funding challenges at the smaller airports in the system.

05:17Great.

05:17Well, thank you again.

05:18And, Ms. Baker, I'm out of time, but I will submit.

05:20I've got a couple questions for you, too, but I'll submit them in written form.

05:24I yield back to the chair.

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