President Joe Biden on Thursday signed sweeping aviation legislation that will increase the staffing of U.S. air traffic controllers, increase funding to prevent runway proximity incidents and speed refunds for canceled flights.
The $105 billion, five-year measure reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration. It prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together, requires planes to be equipped with 25-hour in-cabin recording devices, increases maximum civil penalties for airline consumer violations to $25,000 per violation to $75,000 and increases scrutiny of aircraft production.
“After flight disruptions, runway issues and consumer frustrations, this law was created to provide the safest and most reliable aviation system in the world,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell. “Aircraft manufacturers will see more safety inspectors at factories and stricter safety standards from the FAA.”
Biden has repeatedly clashed with air carriers, calling for stricter new consumer rules and harshly criticizing them for imposing fees. His administration has also moved aggressively to block further consolidation in the passenger airline industry, including successfully blocking a link between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines and nullifying an alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines.
The law also adds five daily round-trip takeoff and landing times at busy Washington National Airport, which Delta Air Lines had lobbied for. The bill also directs the FAA to deploy advanced airport surface technology to help prevent collisions.
Efforts to improve aviation safety in the United States have gained new urgency following a series of near misses, as well as the mid-air emergency in January of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said the bill “allows for more safety technology on runways, more air traffic controllers and stronger oversight of aircraft production.”
The project will also allow Boeing to continue producing its 767 freighter for another five years, until 2033, in the United States, giving it an exemption from efficiency rules that take effect in 2028.
The bill aims to address the shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers by directing the FAA to implement better staffing standards and hire more inspectors, engineers and technical specialists.
The bill does not raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots to 67, as House lawmakers tried to do last year, and maintains pilot training requirements.
Congress will not set minimum seat size requirements, leaving that to the FAA. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to create a dashboard that shows consumers the minimum seat size for each U.S. airline.
Lawmakers also rejected many other consumer-related provisions that the Biden administration had sought, including requiring compensation for long delays caused by airlines, as is the case in Europe.
The bill reauthorizes the National Transportation Safety Board and increases the staffing of the safety investigative agency. It also seeks to increase the adoption of drones and flying air taxis in national airspace and extends existing government authority against drones until October 1.
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This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
