NATCA Bookshelf

54 R e f e r e n c e s N A T C A I N W A S H I N G T O N 2 0 2 4 N i W To d a y Glossary 35-Day Government Shutdown The longest government shutdown in U.S. history eroded the critical layers necessary to support and maintain the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS). The shutdown began at midnight Dec. 22, 2018, and lasted until Jan. 25, 2019. We work hard to mitigate distractions and reduce fatigue in our workforce, but the shutdown increased fatigue and introduced unnecessary risk. Even though the NAS was safer after the shutdown ended than it was during the shutdown, it took considerable time for the system to return to the normal safety level as compared to before the shutdown began. 5G Services The radio spectrum frequency known as C-band, which is used by the U.S. telecommunications industry to provide wireless services. C-band radio frequencies are adjacent to the ones used by aircraft radar altimeters, which provide pilots to accurate information about an aircraft's height above the ground. Deployment of 5G services has led to disruption and interference with radar altimeter equipment, resulting in erroneous altitude readings on the flight deck. NATCA believes that it is critical for the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, operators, the telecommunications industry, and other stakeholders to continue collaboration on mitigating and resolving 5G disruption and interference concerns before aircraft are cleared to operate in the NAS. Administrative Furlough A discretionary ("save money" or "non-emergency") furlough. It involves the placing of an employee in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status because of a lack of work or funds, or for other non-disciplinary reasons. It is a planned event designed to absorb reductions necessitated by downsizing, reduced funding, lack of work, or any other event that requires the Agency to save money. This kind of furlough is "non-emergency" in that the FAA has sufficient time to reduce spending and therefore give adequate notification of its specific furlough plan and how many furlough days or hours will be required for each affected employee. (See also "Shutdown Furlough.") Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Much like Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), AAM is a new entrant aviation system that moves people and cargo using new aircraft designs that are integrated into existing airspace operations. The air traffic control system must evolve to support the safe and efficient integration of this technology and to accommodate a mix of crewed and unmanned aircraft in the NAS. Sufficient funding is necessary to ensure that the frontline controller workforce continues to be involved in all development, testing, and deployment of AAM and UAS integration. Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund) The FAA is funded primarily by the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund), which receives revenues from a series of excise taxes paid by users of the NAS. The Trust Fund was created in 1970 in an attempt to provide a dedicated source of funding for the NAS that is independent of the general treasury fund. Although the FAA still receives a variable amount of funding for operations and maintenance from the general treasury fund, in recent years, the Trust Fund has accounted for between 80-90% of the total appropriations for the FAA's Operations budget and 100% of the FAA's other budgeted expenditures. Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Hiring Reform Act of 2019 (S.1148) Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., helped improve the FAA's controller hiring process. NATCA strongly supported the ATC Hiring Reform Act of 2019, which was signed into Public Law as part of S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law No: 116-92). Air Traffic Organization (ATO) The operational arm of the FAA. The ATO is responsible for providing safe and efficient air navigation services for 30.2 million square miles of airspace. This represents more than 17% of the world's airspace and includes all of the United States and large portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. Airport Improvement Program (AIP) This program provides grants to public agencies and, in some cases, to private owners and entities, for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). AIP is authorized as part of the FAA's authorizing legislation, and it is appropriated as Grants-in-Aid to Airports.

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