Air Traffic Control Modernization Advances in House Committee

A plan to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system was put forward today by the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa). CEI transportation policy expert Marc Scribner praised the chairman and the committee for advancing this reform, which would move air traffic control from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to a nonprofit to run.

Statement by Marc Scribner, CEI Fellow

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee deserves praise for attempting to bring American aviation into the 21st century. The current air traffic control model is a relic of the 1960s and should be dismantled and replaced, as most of the industrialized world has done over the past 25 years. 

Airlines, travelers, pilots, and air traffic controllers all support the new nonprofit corporation, which will be able to implement badly needed new technologies and practices that improve service delivery and contain costs. Canada’s 20 years of experience with a similar model suggests the traveling public can expect significant savings and benefits under the new nonprofit. 

The opponents, led by Delta Air Lines and the corporate jet lobby, are attempting to preserve the cronyism embedded in the imploding status quo by misleading the public and members of Congress. The false claims made by these self-serving opponents should be ignored.

See also: