Letter to Billy Nolen, Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration - Soto, Demings, Murphy Call for MCO Air Traffic Upgrade

Letter

Dear Acting Administrator Nolen:

We write to you requesting the Federal Aviation Administration consider prioritizing funding for
replacement of the Central Florida Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility (F11)
located at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

The Central Florida TRACON was built in 1983 and has become an outdated facility. It is tasked
with controlling an airspace that includes the 7th busiest airport in the country. MCO has opened
two additional airsides and will open a state-of-the-art terminal in 2022 to accommodate its record
50 million passengers per year before the pandemic. Additionally, F11 includes Kissimmee
Gateway Airport (ISM), Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), and six other airports as
well as NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which continue
to set records for the number and frequency of launches.

We recently toured F11 and promoted funding in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
We were alarmed by the conditions FAA personnel, including professional controllers and Airway
Transportation System specialists, are required to endure while ensuring the safety of the traveling
public. A single emergency or catastrophic incident would be devastating to the passengers, crew,
controllers, safety specialists, and their families. At an estimated $60 million dollars, it is critical
for the FAA to replace one of the country's busiest TRACON facilities.

We urge you to consider prioritizing immediate funding to replace the F11 TRACON facility.
Thank you for your full and fair consideration of this matter, consistent with applicable agency
guidelines.

Sincerely,

Source