Senate scrambles to pass bill improving air safety and service for travelers as deadline nears

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is scrambling to pass a $105 billion bill designed to improve air safety and improve customer service for air travelers before the law governing the Federal Aviation Administration expires at midnight on Friday.

If senators can’t resolve a series of disputes over the measure by then, around 3,600 FAA employees could be furloughed, potentially exacerbating existing staffing shortages.

The FAA says no one in “safety critical” positions — like air traffic controllers — would be affected if the deadline is missed, and the safety of the flying public would not be at risk. But failure to pass the popular bipartisan bill by May 10 would be the latest setback after months of delays on the measure, and another example of Congress struggling to pass major legislation, even when it has broad support.

The bill stalled in the Senate this week after senators from Virginia and Maryland objected to a provision that would allow an additional 10 flights a day to and from the heavily trafficked Reagan Washington National Airport. Other senators have tried to add unrelated provisions, seeing it as a prime chance to enact their legislative priorities.

Senators from both parties were working to clear objections Thursday and move the FAA bill, or a short extension, before the Friday deadline.

The legislation was negotiated by Republicans and Democrats who lead the House and Senate committees overseeing the FAA. The agency has been under scrutiny since it approved Boeing jets that were involved in two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. The legislation would govern FAA operations for the next five years.

The House passed a similar bipartisan bill last summer. Senators introduced their revised 1,069-page measure last week, with days to go before the deadline.

The...