Discussion

Mr. J. Gordon Bennett

Federal Aviation Administration Representative, London1

1 On behalf of Mr Shaffer.

The keystone of the American Government's role in national airport planning for the 70s and the 80s is President Nixon's Airport and Airways Development Act of 1970. It recognizes that airports are national as well as local assets which need constant improvement and expansion. This legislation guarantees a stable financial base on which the US A could develop airports for the 80s.

The Act provides $2900 million over a ten-year period in federal funds for expanding and improving the national system of airways and $2500 million for expanding and improving the national system of airports. These two basic elements constitute the American National Aviation System. The amount for airport development for 1970-80 is about the same as that which the Government spent for civil airports over the preceding 40 years.