Get Out The Fork

Long-time readers may recall my earlier screeds about the threat of privatizing the nations air traffic control system. The most serious attempt to privatize ATC is found in legislation pending before the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 2997, the 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act, or simply the 21st Century AIRR Act. In addition to privatizing the U.S. ATC system, the bill funds FAA programs for a multiyear period.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, January 15, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Legislation (H.R. 2997, the 21st Century AIRR Act) proposes privatizing the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system and funding FAA programs.
A looming March 31, 2018 deadline for FAA funding is being used to push the ATC privatization proposal, with proponents counting on public fatigue.
Readers are urged to contact their elected officials to express opposition to ATC privatization before the deadline to prevent its passage.

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Long-time readers may recall my earlier screeds about the threat of privatizing the nation’s air traffic control system. The most serious attempt to privatize ATC is found in legislation pending before the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 2997, the 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act, or simply the 21st Century AIRR Act. In addition to privatizing the U.S. ATC system, the bill funds FAA programs for a multiyear period.

Last September, Congress punted on this bill and instead passed a stopgap measure to keep the agency in operation through March 31, 2018. That new deadline is fast approaching, and Congress once again will have to act to keep the FAA in operation past that date. It’s all but assured that proponents of ATC privatization will use the upcoming deadline as an opportunity to push this proposal once again. And its chief supporter, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) is retiring this year; he’ll pull out all the stops, wanting to go out with a big win. Unless we once again raise a stink about how bad an idea this is, they could get away with it.