On May 17, 2024, U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Gary Peters (D-MI) announced the signing into law of their Airport Infrastructure Resources (AIR) Security Act. This legislation permanently extends their 2023 law that prevents government grants from being used to subsidize the purchase of airport infrastructure such as jet bridges from hostile governments. The act was signed into law as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act.
"The national security threat China and other adversaries pose to our transportation industry cannot be underestimated," said Sen. Cornyn. "This legislation will ensure government grants aren’t used to subsidize the purchase of airport infrastructure from hostile governments, and I’m glad to see it permanently become law as part of the vital FAA reauthorization."
Sen. Peters echoed these sentiments, stating, "We must protect our nation’s transportation sector against security threats from the Chinese government and other hostile governments. As airports across the country continue to receive federal investments to make critical improvements, this provision will help ensure these vital projects are not purchasing airport equipment from adversarial governments."
The legislation comes in response to past incidents involving Chinese jet bridge manufacturer CIMC-Tianda, which was found guilty of intellectual property theft from U.S. jet bridge manufacturer Jetway Systems in 1998 and subsequently banned from U.S. markets for a decade. Since the ban expired, CIMC-Tianda has reentered U.S. markets and started bidding on airport projects in Miami, Orlando, Boston, and Dallas.
Originally introduced by Sen. Cornyn in 2020, the AIR Security Act aims to prevent entities like CIMC-Tianda from influencing U.S. transportation infrastructure by prohibiting airport improvement project grants from being used for contracts with any entity that has violated U.S. intellectual property rights.
This latest version of the bill makes permanent the provisions of the AIR Security Act. An earlier version of this legislation became law in 2023 but included an expiration date.