House and Senate negotiate bill to help FAA add more air traffic controllers and safety inspectors

By DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer

Congressional negotiators have agreed to help the Federal Aviation Administration hire more air traffic controllers and safety inspectors. House and Senate leaders said Monday they have agreed on a $105 billion bill governing the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years. They say the bill will increase the number of air traffic controllers and require the FAA to use new technology designed to prevent collisions between planes on the ground. The agreement in Congress comes after several highly publicized close calls at the nation’s airports. The bill drops a House provision that would have raised the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 67; it will stay at 65.