AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2017 - 16

WAYPOINTS

Concrete

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
Editor in Chief

It's what's missing from the ATC privatization debate
AS YOU READ THIS, the future of the U.S. air traffic control system will be in limbo in one way or another.
With the FAA set to run out of spending authority on
September 30, a reauthorization bill will need to be
passed. Ideally it will be a long-term authorization that
will allow the agency to move forward aggressively with
modernization of the ATC system. More likely, though,
it will be yet another short-term extension as Congress
plays politics with the world's largest, safest, and most
efficient air transportation system. A short-term extension will keep in play a plan by U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster
(R-Pa.) to "privatize" ATC.
To many, "privatization" may seem like a good thing.
After all, surely a "private" entity can operate more effi-

If all this time and money were to end up solving
some of the challenges facing the air traffic system,
perhaps it would be worth a consideration.
But it won't.

Editor in Chief
TOM HAINES has
been leading
AOPA's media
operations for
23 years.

16 | AOPA PILOT October 2017

ciently than a government-run program, no? In this
case, no. Because what Shuster's bill lays out isn't privatization at all. It only shifts a natural monopoly where
Congress has oversight for the public good to a monopoly where the airlines and their allies can gain control
over ATC and the billions of dollars of publicly funded
assets associated with it. This giveaway of assets and
control is akin to handing over the interstate highway
system lock, stock, and barrel to six trucking companies and asking them to be sure to look after those who
drive cars. In addition, Shuster's bill, according to the
Congressional Budget Office, would add nearly $100
billion to our national debt over several years to transition the system from the government to a nonprofit
monopoly, run by the airlines.
If all this time and money were to end up solving some
of the challenges facing the air traffic system, perhaps it
would be worth a consideration. But it won't, because it
doesn't address the inherent problems that lead to delays.
It doesn't force the airlines to address their own scheduling conundrum-the one that schedules more flights
out of some airports during push times than the runways
there can possibly handle. Throw in some severe weather
in the region, and the system falls apart. Not because of
the failings of the ATC system itself, but because of the
impossible task asked of the system by the airlines.

The Washington Post published an op-ed piece I
wrote about problems in the air traffic system. The newspaper titled it "The Airports are Regulated by...Concrete."
Here are a few quotes from it: "Whether one considers
the culprit to be short-sighted city planners...or noisesensitive airport neighbors, the fact remains that until
more concrete is laid, the FAA could train every man,
woman, and child in the country to be an air traffic controller and airspace congestion would still haunt us. In
the meantime, only realistic scheduling by air carriers
and level-headed communications between controllers
and pilots will bridge the safety gap.... Today, however,
it is a lack of runways, not the federal government that
regulates the air carriers and general aviation as well."
The date on that op-ed: December 27, 1986. Yes, 31
years ago.
President Donald Trump kicked off "Infrastructure
Week" in June with a press conference touting the
benefits of ATC privatization, making his case by denigrating the current system-a system that is the envy of
the rest of the world. And, in fact, his privatization proposal doesn't really address new infrastructure at all.
The investments in ATC modernization mentioned by
the president are already programmed and in the works,
many of the recent ones ahead of schedule and on budget. What a shame that he did not use the opportunity
to promote real infrastructure investment-in new
runways and airports that would make a significant
impact on the flourishing aviation system in this country, improvements that would create good-paying jobs
and generate decades of benefit for the nation.
General aviation for years has promoted the idea
that the FAA procurement process and decision making regarding infrastructure should be reformed. The
NextGen Advisory Committee, of which AOPA is a part,
has made great progress in helping the FAA focus attention and resources on projects that make a difference
in moving more air traffic safely. More can be done to
improve the current system. It's time for the airlines and
Congress to join GA leaders in working to improve the
current system, rather than handing these public assets
over to an entity that will ultimately be accountable only
to the airlines.
AOPA
EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org
SOCIAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2017