The passage of a safety bill coupled with yet another extension – the 15th since the last Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorisation Bill expired in 2007 – means that there is not a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a long-term FAA authorisation bill through the US Congress this year. The late July action just before Congress left for August recess means that, come the New Year, Congress, the administration and the industry will largely be starting from scratch to craft new legislation that would not only fund the FAA but pave the way for accelerating NextGen.