Mastio: Privatize air traffic control, escape political drama
As the recent government shutdown comes to an end, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warns that it will take weeks for airline traffic to stabilize, compounding the disruptions already faced by millions of travelers. This situation highlights a significant vulnerability in the current air traffic control system, which is tethered to the political whims of Washington. The article argues that privatizing air traffic control, as successfully implemented in Canada and other nations, could provide a more reliable and efficient alternative. By transitioning to a non-profit, user-funded corporation, the air traffic control system could operate free from the chaos of government shutdowns and funding lapses that have plagued the FAA since 1980.
Proponents of privatization suggest that funding could be secured through fees collected from airlines and private aircraft, thus eliminating dependence on taxpayer dollars and ensuring a steady revenue stream. This model, akin to Canada’s Nav Canada, has proven effective in maintaining safety standards while investing in modern technology. Critics worry about potential safety compromises under a profit-driven model, but the proposal emphasizes a non-profit structure with oversight similar to that of the FAA. The article reassures that safety regulations would remain stringent, with the FAA retaining ultimate safety certification and oversight, akin to its current role with aircraft manufacturers. Furthermore, the privatized model promises to address the technological incompetence that has characterized the FAA’s operations, which are currently bogged down by outdated systems and delayed modernization efforts.
The call for privatization resonates across the political spectrum, offering Democrats the assurance of robust safety regulations and union protections, while providing Republicans with a pathway to fiscal discipline and reduced government intervention. As public frustration over the recent shutdown mounts, the notion of removing politicians from the air traffic control equation gains traction. With existing legislative efforts in Congress aimed at this transition, the article suggests that the current climate could serve as a catalyst for meaningful reform in the air traffic control system, ultimately benefiting travelers and the aviation industry alike. As David Mastio of The Kansas City Star points out, it’s time to consider a system that prioritizes efficiency and reliability over political strife, ensuring that travelers can navigate the skies without the looming threat of government dysfunction.
As the government shutdown sputters to a close, the Federal Aviation Administration says that airline traffic will take weeks to get back to normal. That will add to the millions of travelers who have already had their flights delayed, disrupted and even derailed altogether. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Even the socialists in Canada have figured out that a private non-profit can reliably control air traffic better than a government bureaucracy. And with the prospect of another government shutdown just months away, our current system is a glaring vulnerability – a tether to the whims of Washington when the private sector could do it better without all the drama.
Privatizing air traffic control, as Canada and dozens of other nations have successfully done, offers a reasonable path forward. It’s time to remove this essential function from the political crossfire – which has allowed funding to lapse 14 times since 1980 – and entrust it to a non-profit, user-funded corporation.
Privatization would fund air traffic control through fees on airlines and private aircraft — fees already collected but currently funneled through volatile appropriations. No more shutdowns. No more chaos. Moreover, a non-profit corporation would have the freedom to expand training of the air traffic controllers in short supply under a government system that has restricted access to education in parochial political battles in Congress.
Critics on the left fear privatization means corporate greed will compromise safety. They point to for-profit models and conjure images of cost-cutting at the expense of lives. But the proposal isn’t a Wall Street takeover; it’s a non-profit corporation, modeled after Canada’s Nav Canada. Established in 1996, Nav Canada is governed by a board representing airlines, general aviation, unions, and the government. It’s self-funded via service charges, not taxpayer dollars, and has invested billions in modern technology.
Safety? Transport Canada’s oversight ensures standards are similar to FAA benchmarks, with accident rates on par with the US since privatization. The FAA would retain ultimate safety certification and oversight, much as it does with aircraft manufacturers like Boeing. And unions are banned from striking.
Non-profit air traffic control could eliminate the troubling technological incompetence that plagues the FAA’s $25 billion annual budget, much of which funds legacy systems from the 1970s. The NextGen modernization program, planned since 2003, remains mired in delays and cost overruns. It was originally set to be implemented this year, but internal FAA reports show much of it won’t be in place til the 2030s – if then. The FAA’s excuses for this delay are comical. Nav Canada, by contrast, upgraded its radar and satellite systems on time. Some argue we should just take their technology and move it here.
There’s something in this idea for everybody. Democrats secure ironclad safety regulations and union protections that are already working globally. Republicans gain fiscal discipline and a smaller government.
Before the shutdown, Trump’s transportation secretary said this was a no-go for them. “To have a fight about privatization is just going to divide people,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference earlier this year. “And what that’ll actually do is make sure that we don’t actually build a brand new air traffic control system.”
Nothing could be more popular than getting Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer out of the cockpit. Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia have all already kicked their prime ministers to the curb; we should do the same with our politicians. There’s already several pieces of legislation in Congress to get this done, and public outrage at the shutdown could be just the catalyst we need.
David Mastio is a national columnist for The Kansas City Star and McClatchy/Tribune News Service
Travelers line up for to check their tickets at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
