Says Multiple Issues Would Need To Be Resolved, And That Takes Time

The apparent support for privatizing Air Traffic Control in the FY2018 budget released the Trump White House last week has brought strong reaction from both sides of the issue, with airlines generally in favor of the move and GA and business aviation largely opposed.

Writing in The Hill, former AOPA president and CEO Craig Fuller, now a consultant on aviation issues, says that spinning off ATC to a private, non-profit entity could considerably slow the implementation of Nextgen. Fuller says there are two fundamental questions to be answered: does the aviation industry really want a "bold and transformational" change in what is recognized as the world's safest, largest and most complex air transportation system, and can the aviation community come to consensus on the governance, financing and operational priorities.

Fuller contends that such a move would slow the implementation of NextGen, designed to make air traffic control safer and more efficient.

Fuller writes that rather than spin off ATC, Congress needs to focus more pressing issues, such as "establishing a steady, reliable and predictable funding source, especially to move long-term capital projects such as air traffic modernization, airport infrastructure or aging facility recapitalization," and "consensus agreement with industry stakeholders on major investments and, based on this agreement, authority to expedite acquisition decisions."

Fuller says that the debate on privatizing ATC would be "the latest in a long record of similar debates that have yielded no successful conclusion."

(Image from file)

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