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| Economy |
| Fix air travel in America: |
| 2019-05-11 |
| [The Hill] Within the infrastructure debate in Washington, let us not lose sight of the condition of America’s airports. President Trump and newly elected members of Congress campaigned on a promise to fix our country’s outdated infrastructure, often citing airports as a prime example. But if the past has taught us anything, it’s that everyone holds hands when it comes to talking about infrastructure, but points fingers when it comes to paying for it. The case for investing in airports is clear. U.S. airports count themselves among the world’s busiest, yet no U.S. airports ‐ once the envy of the world ‐ crack the top 30 for the world’s best airports. From London’s Heathrow to Seoul’s Incheon, countries around the world ‐ with whom we directly compete for tourism dollars ‐ have prioritized air travel infrastructure, while America’s aging, inadequate facilities are creating more hassle and congestion than ever. Without improvements, passengers won’t just lose their time and patience: the U.S. economy stands to lose billions of dollars in travel spending if nothing is done to address the state of our country’s air travel infrastructure. In 2016, Americans avoided 32 million trips because of airport hassles, costing $24 billion in spending. Can this problem be solved? Since Congress is loath to raise taxes, the outlook for any transportation pay-for is usually bleak. But, when it comes to airports, there is a simple tax-free solution: raise the cap on the passenger facility charge (PFC), which gives airports the option to adjust their own user fees if they need infrastructure improvements. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #10 Sure, come and frisk me! My emotional support cooties are not going to like that. |
| Posted by: gorb 2019-05-11 12:31 |
| #9 Thank Gawd for my Emotional-Support Tarantula or I'd never make it through the long TSA lines without anxiety. Sure, come and frisk me! |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2019-05-11 12:26 |
| #8 a promise to fix our country’s outdated infrastructure... Um, shouldn't that be crumbling infrastructure? Isn't that the usual bullshit? |
| Posted by: Raj 2019-05-11 10:32 |
| #7 |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2019-05-11 09:35 |
| #6 AFAICT the big push to upgrade or build new terminals is more about creating graft opportunities than improving air travel. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2019-05-11 09:16 |
| #5 And the ones that remain should be privatized, with the security theater removed. |
| Posted by: Vernal Hatrack2366 2019-05-11 08:56 |
| #4 ...We also have an out-of-control NIMBY culture here, which I'm pretty sure places like the ROK don't have to deal with. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2019-05-11 08:56 |
| #3 Or we could stop paying huge subsidies to tiny rural airports and small, secondary airports in larger cities that have no chance of being able to sustain themselves? We could save money instead of steal more money! |
| Posted by: Vernal Hatrack2366 2019-05-11 08:56 |
| #2 Toll Booths at airport entrances really are the key. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-05-11 08:26 |
| #1 Better idea. Tear down the airports. Make everyone go through a warehouse security operation and wait on the tarmac. Parking lots, runways, porta johns. It could not be much worse than what air travel is today. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-05-11 08:21 |