Washington Leaders Renew ATC Reform Debate

As long-term FAA reauthorization legislation remains in limbo, Washington aviation leaders rekindled debate over the future of the U.S. air traffic control system. Business aviation advocates are urging caution on dramatic changes, and reform backers continue to point to the Canadian system as a role model.

On May 13, the Bipartisan Policy Center held a panel titled "Modernizing Our Air Traffic Control System: What’s the Holdup," saying, “The U.S. air traffic control system still runs on decades-old technology, yet efforts to update it have limped forward. While travel delays and safety concerns are mounting, structural and funding issues, as well as varied stakeholder interests, are all impacting steps toward modernization.”

During the panel, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said a number of questions still surround privatization, particularly a proposal that would put ATC in the hands of an airline-centric board. “The U.S. air transportation system is so important to our nation’s economy and greater transportation system,” Bolen said expressing concern that proposed changes would put general aviation and rural economies at risk. “So how do we keep a system that serves the public interest?”

NATA president and CEO Tom Hendricks also questioned the need for large-scale changes in the ATC system. “Privatized foreign air traffic control systems struggle with modernization. There is no magic governance structure that will make that better,” he said.

However, ATC privatization advocate Robert Poole, who is director of transportation policy for the Reason Foundation, highlighted collaboration between controllers and technicians in Canada and said Nav Canada’s costs are lower than what the Canadian government’s costs were. Former American Associations for Airport Executives president and CEO Charles Barclay also cited Nav Canada’s stable funding and ability to be forward thinking and noted that the U.S. ATC system lacks access to the capital markets.

“When you look at what we’ve gone through the past 10 years, it’s unstable, unpredictable budgets,” added National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca) president Paul Rinaldi. He warned that the U.S. system is being “strangled” and said that while the administration has been working collaboratively and implementing some technology advancements, “The antiquated World War II technology is phasing out and we’re just bringing in the 1990s technology. It takes that long to go through the procurement process.”

Their arguments come as reform advocates have been pushing for an independent ATC through FAA reauthorization. But the House bill, which contains such a proposal, has stalled. The Senate-passed bill has no such provision, and Senate appropriators separately have written language that would prevent funding of such a privatization effort. The House is still weighing options on whether to move forward with the Senate-passed bill or pursue some other long-term legislation. The FAA, meanwhile, is operating under a second short-term extension that is set to expire July 15.