As debate has waged on over the future of the U.S. air traffic control organization, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) has begun to brace for the increasing possibility of another short-term extension of the FAA’s authorization. The House has made the creation of an independent ATC organization the centerpiece of its multi-year reauthorization bill, and both sides of the ATC issue have been working feverishly to sway undecided lawmakers, to the point that one lobbyist remarked, “It’s a war out there.”

Chief proponents of the ATC reorganization—House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) and General Aviation Caucus co-chair Sam Graves (R-Missouri)—have been reaching out to individual heads of general aviation (GA) companies and other organizations hoping to change minds, while GA groups have held numerous meeting on Capitol Hill hoping to shore up opposition.

With this effort ongoing, the House leadership has indicated a reluctance to bring up the FAA reauthorization bill without adequate support. The House is set to break at the end of next week, leaving only September to complete work on a long-term bill, since the current authorization expires at the end of that month.The Senate bill, meanwhile, is less controversial in that chamber since it does not contain the ATC provision. But the bill has not yet made its way to the floor.

“With the various controversies surrounding what is in [and what is not in] pending House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills and with the clock quickly winding down, we appear to be headed for yet another extension,” AAAE said yesterday. Noting it is continuing to push for other infrastructure issues such as the passenger facility charge and Airport Improvement Program funding, AAAE added, “It is our hope that Congress and the administration in the months ahead will find a way to provide more clarity—and progress on meeting promised infrastructure investments—than has been yielded to date in 2017.”