FAA leader warns of summer travel ‘havoc’ if GOP cuts pass

By DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer

The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration is warning that deep cuts in federal spending could make summer air travel worse. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen told Congress on Friday that deep spending cuts in a House-passed bill would cause his agency to stop training new air traffic controllers. Nolen says it would also slow efforts to modernize FAA technology, including an alert system that broke down in January, briefly stopping flights around the country. Nolen is objecting to a bill that the Republican-controlled House passed last month to raise the U.S. debt limit but also make deep cuts in domestic spending.