Lawmakers introduce controversial bill to privatize air control system

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposed on Wednesday a legislation that would shift air traffic control from the government to a private, non-profit corporation to modernize the service.

According to National Journal, Chairman Bill Sushter said that the change is necessary to cut through a vast bur­eau­cracy that is stifling growth in the avi­ation in­dustry. The bill would also in­su­late the air-traffic-con­trol sys­tem from con­gres­sion­al fund­ing fights, he said.

Shuster said in a statement that the U.S. air traffic control system under the Federal Association Administration (FAA) is the safest system in the world, but "incredibly inefficient". Shuster said that the problem "will only getting worse as pas­sen­ger levels grow and as the FAA falls fur­ther be­hind in mod­ern­iz­ing the sys­tem."

Over the past 40 years, the lawmakers and various air traffic controllers have proposed the privatization of air traffic control system  at least eight times, according to USA Today. The privatized air traffic system has been adopted in Canada and dozens of other countries, but skeptics question whether private systems would work in the larger and more complex U.S. airspace.

The measure, dubbed the AIRR Act, would extend for six years of the FAA and continues its role as the regulator of aviation safety, including the safety of air traffic operations, according to Associated Press. The bill also prohibits cellphone calls by airline passengers in-flight, and requires airlines refund bag fees when checked bags arrive more than 24 hours overdue.

Under the legislation, thousands of air traffic con­trol work­ers would be spun off in­to a sep­ar­ate en­tity that would be over­seen by a quasi-gov­ern­ment­al board. The board would in­clude rep­res­ent­at­ives from the air­line in­dustry, the gov­ern­ment, and labor uni­ons.

The Transformation Committee claims that the legislation would prevent "board dom­in­a­tion by any one group."

The proposal is backed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and is supported by Airlines for America. The supporters say that a private corporation governed by representatives of the aviation industry could move faster than FAA to upgrade equipment and adopt more efficient flight paths.

However, the bill is already facing opposition from consumer groups and bipartisan leaders of the ap­pro­pri­ations com­mit­tees in both cham­bers.

House Ap­pro­pri­ations Com­mit­tee Chair­man Har­old Ro­gers and rank­ing mem­ber Nita Lowey wrote in a let­ter to House lead­ers that such a move give the public less leverage to influence how the system operations.

Another critic from Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran and the top Democrat, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, said privatization would mean less oversight and less accountability.

Tags

air traffic, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Bill Sushter, avi­ation, Federal Association Administration, U.S., FAA, aviation, privatization

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