The Nation - News from May 8, 1987

U.S. airline service, already the target of complaints by passengers and Congress over delays and safety incidents, would have to be restricted if the no-growth budget the Senate approved for the Federal Aviation Administration is enacted, the agency’s chief said. “I haven’t been able to figure out how we can operate,” FAA Administrator Donald D. Engen told the Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee. “We will have a serious disruption to air commerce in 1988 with that budget level.” Engen did not specify what type of restrictions might be necessary. But an FAA official who asked to not be identified said they could include a limit on the number of flights allowed. The Senate approved a $1-trillion federal budget for the 1988 fiscal year that would restrict the FAA to about the $2.8 billion it received this year.