Airbus rollout faces political backlash in US - byDoug Cameron, Chicago
THE troubled Airbus A380 program was dealt a potential blow on Friday when an influential US congressman said federal funds should not be used to upgrade US airports to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft. John Mica, chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, claimed it could cost as much as $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) to refit up to 18 airports to handle the 550-seat A380 -- which is expected to enter service next year despite production delays.
Mr Mica said any use of federal funds from the Airport Improvement Program to allow A380 operations would be unfair in the wake of the controversy over European state subsidies for the aircraft's development. However, aviation experts said such estimates were inflated, while A380-related improvements were also needed to handle new Boeing aircraft. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and New York's JFK are expected to be the first four US airports to handle A380s. The size of the aircraft will require the municipally owned airports to build stronger runways and air bridges, and to enlarge some terminal facilities.
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