FROM THE PUBLISHER
PRIVATIZING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL WHAT’S ALL THE SCUTTLEBUTT?
At the top of the pile of political initiatives aff ecting aviation is a move from the president of the United States to privatize our air traffi c control system. For those not familiar with it, the proposal
promoted by the president actually is detailed in Congressman Bill Schuster’s (R-PA) proposal HR 2997, the AIRR Act of 2017, which would remove our nation’s air traffi c control operations from the FAA and transfer control of it to a private entity. The new entity that would run the ATC system in our country would be a private “corporation” called the American Air Navigation Services Corporation. The corporation would be governed
by a 13-member board, including a chief executive offi cer, two members appointed by the secretary of transportation, one member for passenger airlines, one for cargo airlines, one for regional airlines, one for general aviation, one for business jets, one for controllers, one for airports, one for commercial pilots and two at-large seats chosen by the rest of the board. The fear from those organizations
PUBLISHER
GREG NAPERT
gnapert@DOMmagazine.com
representing business jet and general aviation interests is that the airlines would dominate the new corporation and general and corporate aviation would take a back seat as air carrier traffi c in the skies is expedited. The airlines have been the ones that have been primarily lobbying for the privatization of air traffi c control. They have as much admitted that their interest is more control of the skies in numerous discussions on the topic. Many of the details of this proposal,
viewpoints of the various organizations that represent general and corporate aviation, as well as proposals and documents outlining the opposition to the AIRR Act, are outlined on a Web site where most of the organizations have come together in an alliance to fi ght the privatization eff ort. The eff ort is called Alliance For Aviation Across America and the Web site is www.
aviationacrossamerica.org. Despite these eff orts, however, a House
Transportation Committee panel voted late in June to move forward with air traffi c control privatization. This must still be
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considered, however, by the full House and Senate.
Also worth noting, is that there is a Senate bill (S1405) in opposition to the privatization that was introduced at about the same time as HR2997 was introduced. It would authorize appropriations (money) for the FAA to run the ATC system and outlines the updates and improvements that should be made to the ATC system. In my opinion, the case for privatization is
relatively weak and falls into three areas 1. The airlines are for it. This should be a huge warning fl ag. There are three things that drive airlines — profi t, profi t and profi t. Examples are numerous including overbooking, charging for baggage, dragging customers off fl ights, tightening up already ridiculous seat pitch, and on and on.
2. It will make aviation safer. It’s hard to argue with the current system. Although we always need to strive for perfection, the fact is that aviation accidents are some of the lowest in history. The idea that a private corporation could bring quicker and more effi cient access to technology than the eff orts that have been made on behalf of the FAA is arguable. Remember, private companies have been developing the technology under contract from the government. So what’s to get these companies to move faster if the system is privatized?
3. It works in other countries. Just look at the health of general aviation in other countries! In some European countries, general aviation is practically non-existent or not accessible to most citizens! There is no doubt that the steps being taken
to privatize ATC could have a signifi cant impact on the health of the business jet and general aviation industry — which, in turn, could aff ect your job. Please take an interest and do some research.
Visit your favorite trade organization’s Web site or Google the issue and let your congressman and/or senator know how your feel. Your future is in their hands! Let me know your thoughts. Greg Napert, Proud to be an A&P
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