House overwhelmingly passes bill to improve air travel

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for the next half-decade, moving at a time of growing dysfunction and disruption in the system to make a number of changes that affect passengers. The bill would address airlines’ refunds and reimbursement obligations to passengers, enhance protections for passengers with disabilities, boost hiring of air traffic controllers, shore up aviation safety, unlock funding to modernize airport infrastructure, invest in upgrades to the agency’s technology and more. The House passed it on a vote of 351 to 69, sending it to the Senate. “Today, the House voted to bolster America’s global aviation leadership,” Representative Rick Larsen of Washington, the senior Democrat on the Transportation Committee, said in a statement. “This good faith process yielded a bipartisan bill that will create a safer, cleaner, greener and more accessible US aviation system. It will maintain our gold standard in safety and innovation, make a more sustainable and resilient aviation sector a reality and improve accessibility and consumer protections for all passengers.” A number of sticking points had threatened to hold up a final agreement, including disputes over proposed changes to a pilot training rule and an increase to their mandatory retirement age. Republicans and the airline industry largely oppose new regulations proposed by Democrats and aimed at strengthening consumer protections. And Washington-area representatives have said they would block the measure if it allowed for more long-distance flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just outside the capital. But the House dispensed with some obstacles on Wednesday night before passing the bill on Thursday. It rejected, 229 to 205, a bipartisan proposal to add seven round-trip flights to Reagan National. Story has more.<br/>