ATA Letter to Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee On U.S.-VISIT

Commercial aviation helps drive more than 10M American jobs and 5 cents of every dollar of U.S. GDP
Commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion per year in economic activity
In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 times the value exported by sea
For every 100 airline jobs, some 360 are supported outside of the airline industry
Federal taxes constitute $61 – or 20% – of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket
In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%
Commercial air travel is the safest form of intercity transportation in the United States
In the most recent decade, scheduled air service on U.S. airlines was seven times safer than in the 1970s
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 14%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B
In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus
In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses
In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027
In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high
In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion
In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

	ATA Letter to Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee On U.S.-VISIT
	PubZone1 November 13, 2009 The Honorable Robert C. Byrd Chairman, Subcommittee on Homeland Security United States Senate 311 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable George V. Voinovich Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Homeland Security United States Senate 524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chairman Byrd and Ranking Member Voinovich: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is nearing a decision on how to proceed with the implementation of the Exit portion of US-VISIT. It is clear from DHS testimony over the past several years that the Department intends to implement Exit in the air environment only. Limiting the application of Exit to airline passengers calls into question the efficacy of the program. Roughly 80 percent of foreign visitors use land border crossings to enter and leave our country. Given how many visitors the program doesn’t cover and the existence of proven programs that track international air travelers, now may be the time to determine if Exit is still necessary. Since September 11, the Air Transport Association (ATA) and its member airlines have worked in close partnership with DHS to implement several security and passenger processing initiatives that track the arrival and departure of all international travelers. These include the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), its successor APIS Quick Query (AQQ) and Secure Flight, which when fully implemented will provide DHS with real-time information on who is arriving into the United States and who is departing. While we appreciate the original intent of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) that directed the U.S. government to implement an exit control system, we believe that adding the additional requirement to collect biometrics on departing foreign travelers will not result in a complete system for immigration control purposes unless it is implemented at the land borders as well. The development and implementation of APIS – the collecting of biographic data on all international air travelers has a proven success rate of well over 95 percent according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). And DHS has indicated that those who are not captured through APIS are most likely leaving the United States by land – where there is no tracking of departing foreign travelers. DHS projected the cost of implementing a U.S.-VISIT EXIT regime in the NPRM Concerning Collection of Alien Biometric Data Upon Exit From the United States at Air and Sea Points of Departure at $3.5 billion. 73 Fed. Reg. at 22080, col. 3 ATA remains concerned that given the enormous projected costs of implementation, the airlines or our passengers will be saddled with paying for the program. In this harsh economic climate, we respectfully submit that Congress take a second look at this pre-September 11 mandate and consider whether or not there are adequate security and passenger processing regimes in place that provide the same level of information as the original intent of the law. Sincerely, James C. May President and CEO cc: The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Secretary, DHS Mr. Orbert Moeny, Director, U.S.-VISIT PubZone2	A4A advocates measures to support aviation safety, security and well-being.