Ray LaHood, the Transportation Secretary, has just recently announced that he is going to create a special panel to come up with a plan to help restore the health of the failing airline industry. Right now the industry as a whole has lost billions of dollars due to the swine flu and the ongoing recession. This has caused many airlines to shed, not only jobs, but a lot of routes. Some experts are even saying that, with the loss of so many jobs, some of these airlines could be undermining safety.

The Transportation Secretary made his announcement at the end of a day long forum on the state of the industry. He said that they need a road map to help get the aviation industry back on its feet. LaHood had organized the closed door forum at the behest of airline unions, who are saying that the industry has become dysfunctional.

Many airlines were very quick to tell the Obama administration what the government can do to help the overall cause. They pointed out that they want the government to pick up the entire tab for a new air traffic control system based on GPS technology instead of World War II era radar technology. However, some experts say, if it’s not broke, do not fix it.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been working on the new system for quite some time, has already anticipated spending about $15 billion to $22 billion on the next generation system. However, the Federal Aviation Administration’s plans also call for airlines to shell out an additional $14 billion to $20 billion to install the equipment that is needed for the new system in their planes.

The Air Transport Association said that, since the new air traffic system is a national priority that will benefit the whole nation, it would seem like the federal government should pay for it. Others say that airlines are looking for a quick way to make the government feel like they need to pay for this new system.