Thirty-Five Individual Organizations Prepare For Fight In Congress

A group of 35 general state and national general aviation organizations have banded together to oppose ATC privatization as the FAA reauthorization bill is debated in Congress this summer.

According to an information sheet forwarded to ANN, the groups reiterate that General Aviation is an important American industry that generates over $219 billion in total economic output, supports 1.1 million jobs, and includes a network of thousands of airports and heliports that connect many rural communities to the rest of the world.

"After a thorough and detailed review of Chairman Bill Shuster’s (R-PA) proposal, HR 2997, the AIRR Act of 2017, which would remove our nation’s air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), we have concluded that these reforms will produce uncertainty and unintended consequences without achieving the desired outcomes," the document states.

"While we enjoy the safest most efficient air traffic control system in the world, we also believe that reforms, short of privatization, can better address the FAA’s need to improve its ability to modernize our system. We have concluded that any structural and governance reforms that require protections for an important sector of users is fundamentally flawed.

"In addition, the billions of dollars and time that would be spent transitioning our nation’s air traffic control system to a not-for-profit entity can be better applied to the continuing progress to update and modernize our air traffic control system – including meeting the FAA’s mandate to equip the general aviation fleet with see-and-avoid (ADSB) technology by 2020.

"Moreover, with strong bipartisan opposition in both the House and Senate to remove air traffic control operations from the FAA, we believe efforts should focus on developing a long-term FAA Reauthorization that creates the stability and funding necessary and that can reach the President’s desk for signature.

"We are committed to addressing needed reforms that create predictable and stable funding for the FAA including biennial budgeting, consolidating unneeded and outdated facilities, procurement, and certification reforms, and putting to use some of the balance from the Airways and Airport Trust Fund to expedite technology deployment. We are ready and willing to work with all industry stakeholders and Congress to advance the consensus needed to improve our current system and to ensure that our nation’s air traffic control system remains the envy of the world."

The groups who have signed on to the effort include:

• ABS Air Safety Foundation
• Air Care Alliance
• Aircraft Electronics Association               
• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
• Alaska Airmen Association
• Association of Air Medical Services
• California Pilots Association
• Cardinal Flyers Online
• Cessna Flyer Association
• Cessna Pilots Association
• Cessna Pilots Society
• Citation Jet Pilot Association
• Classic Jet Aircraft Association
• Commemorative Air Force
• Experimental Aircraft Association
• Flight School Association of North America
• General Aviation Manufacturers Association
• Glasair Aircraft Owners Association
• Helicopter Association International
• Kansas Pilots
• Kentucky Aviation Association
• Lancair Owners and Builders Organization
• Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association
• Minnesota Pilots Association
• Mooney Summit               
• National Air Transportation Association
• National Association of State Aviation Officials
• National Business Aviation Association
• Piper Flyer Association
• Recreational Aviation Foundation
• Soaring Society of America
• South Dakota Pilots Association
• Tennessee Aviation Association
• United States Parachute Association
• Veterans Airlift Command
• Washington Pilots Association

(Source: Joint Statement. Image from file)

FMI: Bill Text