From RDU to DC — comments to Congress from our Airport Director
- April 11, 2025
- Posted by: Joe Milazzo II
- Category: Blog
RTA members and partners,
Earlier this week, Raleigh/Durham Airport Authority president and CEO Michael Landguth testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation. The hearing was entitled “America Builds: Airport Infrastructure, Safety, and Regulatory Reform.”
His remarks focused on three key themes:
- Expressing gratitude to Congress for efforts to streamline regulatory and environmental processes
- Emphasizing the critical need for infrastructure modernization and the importance of the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)
- Supporting Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernization and improved coordination across the aviation community
Two of the Triangle’s members of Congress were present at the meeting, including Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, who introduced Mike, and Congressman Brad Knott, along with fellow North Carolinian Addison McDowell.
The hearing lasted several hours, and highlighted the opportunity for an expanded user pay funding system via a modernized Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), along with the ongoing need for streamlined, effective approval processes so that needed infrastructure takes less forever.
To review Mike’s written testimony, please view this PDF. To view his introduction, initial remarks, and the broader hearing, click here.
Testimony consistent with RTA priorities
The private and public sector continues to be aligned in the metropolitan Triangle about the need for purposeful federal improvements to rapidly improve essential airport infrastructure. The recommendations from the RTA’s Airport Infrastructure Development (AID) task force — both in the initial 2020 task force report, released prior to the pandemic, and again in the 2021 task force follow-up report — recommended an increase in the PFC. The task force also endorsed a maximum three year time limit for all FAA approvals. If the task force were to reconvene, I am confident that they would continue to support a user pay increase in the PFC and faster, time-limited approval processes, particularly as inflation has grown exponentially since that time.
RTA’s top strategic priority continues to be the creation of a sustainable business model at RDU International. We applaud RDU president and CEO Michael Landguth for eloquently making the case to a national audience of the needs of both our international airport and an effective and resilient American airspace system.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
