AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 14

AOPA ACTION

'The biggest threat we've ever seen'
NBAA, AOPA, others warning against privatization
LEADERS OF U.S. general aviation organizations are unanimously opposed to so-called
air traffic control privatization, and they have
launched a media campaign to counter "gross
misrepresentations" by the airline-backed
groups supporting it.
"Air traffic control privatization is the
biggest threat to the future of our industry that we've ever seen," said Ed Bolen,
president of the National Business Aviation
Association. "It's being pushed by the
nation's biggest airlines and some front
groups they've created."
House Bill 2997 would transfer ATC and
its billions of dollars in assets from the FAA
to a 13-member board controlled by airline interests. Front groups are running TV
advertisements blaming private jet owners
for airline delays and the slow pace and high
costs of ATC modernization.

Aviation organizations are responding
with their own ads in which Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, "Miracle on the Hudson"
Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, airshow ace Sean D. Tucker, and others reject
the move as a corporate giveaway that would
harm U.S. security and ATC efficiency.
AOPA President Mark Baker said the aviation groups' efforts are working, and more
than 85,000 members and supporters have
called their members of Congress to oppose
ATC privatization. House Transportation
Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
is the main privatization backer, and he has
pushed the measure for years.
"Momentum is on our side," Baker said.
"But I worry about fatigue setting in. This is
a long game, and this issue isn't going to go
away until we have a change in leadership."
www.aopa.org/stopprivatization

Court removes restraining order
in Santa Monica case
Injunction denied in spite of AOPA-NBAA amicus brief
A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING order halting construction to shorten the runway
at California's Santa Monica Municipal
Airport has been lifted despite the "friend
of the court" (amicus) brief that AOPA and
the National Business Aviation Association
filed supporting the delay. The groups
argued that possible state law violations
relating to the runway construction warranted a delay while the city of Santa
Monica's alleged misconduct was reviewed
by the court.
In what the Santa Monica Airport
Association called a "shameful backroom
deal," the city council met in secret earlier this year and approved the runway

14 | AOPA PILOT December 2017

shortening agreement. The $3.5 million
project to take the runway from 5,000 feet
to 3,500 feet was delayed by a temporary
restraining order obtained in the lawsuit filed by local residents Karen Scott
and James Babinski. Scott and Babinski
maintain that under California's public utility code, safety and environmental
implications associated with the runway
construction had to be aired in a public
forum before beginning construction.
The amicus brief sought to inform
the court of the importance of ensuring
that airport operators comply with local
laws when making any changes at the airport, especially as they may relate to the

BAKER ON
THE NEWS
"This is not privatization. This
is going to burden business
aviation, general aviation, in a
very big way."
-AOPA President Mark Baker,
speaking at the National
Business Aviation Association
convention

environmental and safety implications
stemming from a newly configured runway and realigned and adjusted traffic and
flight patterns.
"The Santa Monica City Council is
now wasting millions in tax dollars on a
move that will only increase traffic, congestion, and pollution for the citizens of
Santa Monica. Not only is a lot of money
being wasted, but money will also be lost
when the restricted use of the airport
deprives the citizens of the economic,
employment, and emergency services
advantages that had historically been
provided from the airport." said AOPA
General Counsel Ken Mead.
The battle to preserve access to the
Santa Monica Municipal Airport has
been raging for decades. The city of Santa
Monica and the FAA reached an agreement
in January that would allow the city to close
the airport by the end of 2028.
www.aopa.org/smo17
http://www.aopa.org/stopprivatization http://www.aopa.org/smo17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017

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