The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today praised the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for supporting the general aviation industry in its Fiscal Year 2018 bill. This includes language improving the aircraft certification process in the U.S. and funding for alternative fuels, GAMA said.
“We are extremely pleased to see the committee put teeth into its direction to the FAA to better use the organizational delegation authority,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “GAMA has advocated for this for some time.”
The committee also provided $1.3 billion for aviation safety overall, which is $11.2 million more than the FY2017level and $51.7 million higher than the budget request. In addition, it appropriated $7 million for general aviation alternative fuels, more than $1 million over the administration’s request.
Further, GAMA commended the House appropriators for “taking the initiative to understand the specific elements of NextGen air traffic control modernization and for recognizing the U.S. airspace is the most complex and busiest the world, and faces unique challenges by serving a general aviation community that surpasses any other nation, by far.”