The Real Deal?

On the off chance youve forgotten, heres a helpful reminder: ATC privatization is still a thing. Its baked into a bill being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the FAA. The legislation-or something like it that continues the agencys programs-needs to be enacted by September 30, 2017. Current U.S. Senate legislation to accomplish the same basic task doesnt have ATC privatization in it at this writing.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering H.R. 2997, a bill to reauthorize the FAA that includes privatizing air traffic control (ATC) by establishing a new non-profit corporation governed partly by airline nominees.
Major general aviation (GA) organizations, including NBAA, AOPA, and EAA, strongly oppose this privatization plan, advocating for modernization instead.
Opponents warn that the proposed structure would grant private entities sweeping authority to restrict access, set taxes, and increase costs, effectively giving away taxpayer-funded aviation assets to airline-dominated interests and threatening the health of the entire GA system.

See a mistake? Contact us.

On the off chance you’ve forgotten, here’s a helpful reminder: ATC privatization is still a thing. It’s baked into a bill being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the FAA. The legislation—or something like it that continues the agency’s programs—needs to be enacted by September 30, 2017. Current U.S. Senate legislation to accomplish the same basic task doesn’t have ATC privatization in it at this writing.