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Senator chairs Senate Aviation Subcommittee; discusses need to expand aviation workforce with focus on aviation safety
Arizona airports expected to receive $360 million over next five years from Sinema’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law
GOODYEAR – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema convened and chaired a Senate Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation Subcommittee Field Hearing at the United Aviate Academy in Goodyear, Arizona to discuss the aviation industry’s greatest challenges and opportunities, including aviation infrastructure and workforce needs.
“We’re ensuring that the U.S. aviation system remains the gold standard for the world, and I’m grateful to hear from Arizonans on the frontlines who spend their time thinking about safe and efficient aviation. Our field hearing provided invaluable perspective into how we can continue partnering with aviation industry leaders and workers to ensure their needs are met and our aviation workforce remains strong,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee.
The witnesses participating in Sinema’s aviation hearing include Dana Donati (United Aviate Academy, CEO), Anette M. Karlsson, Ph.D. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott Campus, Chancellor), Jonathan Ornstein (Mesa Air Group, Chairman & CEO), Paul Ryder (Air Line Pilots Association, First Officer, UAL-MEC Secretary), and Greg Wilson (Pima Community College, Dean of Applied Technology). The hearing sought to gain firsthand insight into the current supply of pilots, long-term worker supply needs for all aviation careers, diversity in the aviation field, new methods for training aviation workers, and ways Congress can help in regards to Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization.
During the hearing, Sinema highlighted how her Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law makes a once-in-a-generation investment in aviation infrastructure, including an additional $25 billion for aviation over the next five years – $15 billion in priority projects at every airport in the United States, $5 billion in competitive grants for terminal development and other landslide projects, and $5 billion in grants for strengthening Air Traffic Control towers and infrastructure.
Arizona airports are expected to receive a total of at least $360 million in additional federal support over the next five years from Sinema’s bipartisan infrastructure law. Phoenix-Goodyear Airport, where the field hearing was held, will receive $300,000 in infrastructure improvements in 2022 alone.
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law impacts airports.