FAA Administrator Babbitt to attend Chamber Aviation Summit

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will attend the Chamber of Commerce's annual aviation summit, the group announced Friday. 

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt will be among the speakers next Wednesday at the gathering. He will be joined by the heads of JetBlue, U.S. Airways, FedEX and Cessna Aircraft Co. The Air Transport Association, Aerospace Industries Association, National Business Aviation Association and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations will also attend. 

"This year’s summit will explore the pressing need to improve our aging aviation infrastructure, the need to invest in innovative technologies, and the debilitating impact burdensome and expensive government regulations have on the business of aviation," the Chamber said in a statement.

The Chamber said Babbitt will display the FAA's proposed NextGen flight simulation and air traffic control technology. 

The FAA reauthorization bill recently passed by the House included $1.5 billion for the technology. 

Babbitt will likely be looking to calm concerns about recent reports of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. He has spent most of this week visiting flight towers across the country to tell air traffic controllers that such behavior is unacceptable.