The Indie ATC

Key officials introduced legislation in Congress that would establish an independent, not-for-profit corporation to modernize and operate ATC in the U.S. The federally chartered ATC corporation would be governed by a board representing the aviation systems users and the public interest. Many major U.S. airlines applauded the bills.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Legislation, the AIRR Act, was introduced to establish an independent, not-for-profit corporation to modernize and operate the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system, supported by major airlines.
The proposed ATC privatization faces significant opposition from general aviation groups and some congressional leaders due to concerns about user fees, non-discriminatory access, and potential favoritism toward commercial interests.
The FAA reaffirmed its policy that service bulletins (SBs) are generally not mandatory for Part 91 operators in most circumstances and canceled an advisory circular on landing gear failures, deeming the problem not statistically significant.
New FAA guidance allows operators to use minimum descent altitudes (MDAs) as decision altitudes (DAs) with vertical navigation (VNAV) for non-precision approaches, requiring specific authorization.

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Saying the U.S. air traffic control system “incredibly inefficient, and it will only get worse as passenger levels grow and as the FAA falls further behind in modernizing the system,” key officials on February 3 introduced legislation in Congress that would establish an independent, not-for-profit corporation to modernize and operate ATC in the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) sponsored the bill, dubbed the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act.

The AIRR Act (H.R. 4441) is a six-year reauthorization of the FAA and maintains the agency’s role as aviation safety regulator. The federally chartered ATC corporation would be governed by a board representing the aviation system’s users and the public interest. Many major U.S. airlines applauded the bills, with their trade association, Airlines For America, saying, “We share Chairman Shuster’s goal of seeing more air traffic controllers hired, making our system even safer, and most importantly, making flying better—and at no additional cost—for the traveling public.” Others weren’t so sure.