Airports Council International-North America is participating in Infrastructure Week 2014, which runs May 12-16 and is dedicated to exploring the need to invest in U.S. infrastructure to drive economic competitiveness.
“U.S. airports are a fundamental component of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, welcoming more than 700 million passengers annually and processing roughly 27 million metric tons of cargo,” says ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “Collectively, airports make a tremendous contribution to U.S. GDP, more than $1.2 trillion, and employ more than 1.3 million people. But in order to ensure that our airports and commercial aviation sector continue to lead the world, we need to get serious about investing in our future.
“Infrastructure Week 2014 provides U.S. airports a valuable opportunity to educate Congress and the American public about our current priorities to successfully meet capacity demands with safe, efficient, and modern facilities that passengers and cargo shippers expect in an increasingly competitive global market,” Burke continues.
ACI-NA’s most recent Capital Needs Survey identified $71.3 billion in infrastructure improvements needed by 2017 to meet growth projections in both passenger and cargo activity, as well as the need to update aging infrastructure. The number of domestic passengers is expected to pass 1 billion enplanements within the next 15 years.
