Professional Pilot, May 2017

VIEWPOINTS editorial opinions Battle for ATC privatization funded with user fees and run by airline centric board Talking to the avionics in your aircraft Redefining inflight Internet connectivity Ed Bolen President CEO NBAA An epic battle looms over ATC privatization funded by user fees A recent call from the White House for privatizing control over the nations air traffic control ATC network as demonstrated in the administrations budget proposal released in March poses the greatest threat that business aviation has faced in years We will need your support in confronting this challenge The concept of privatizing ATC has been thoroughly examined and set aside by congress for decades Nevertheless the creation of a privatized ATC funded through new user fees is an idea long championed by the big airlines most recently as part of the continuing congressional debate over reauthorization of funding and programs for the Federal Aviation Administration FAA Our ATC system serves the publics interest and is currently overseen by the publics elected representatives in congress But under such a proposal it would be turned over to a non governmental entity governed by an airline centric board of directors There are many reasons NBAA has long been very concerned about such measures including the strong likelihood that user fees on general aviation operators would likely be part of the equation However there is an equally pressing concern at stake Without congress to ensure that the nations airports and airspace are available to all stakeholders the small and midsize towns that rely on access to general aviation for everything from civil services to emergency support to business access and more could have their access threatened Of course as Professional Pilot readers are aware our industry has fought similar ATC privatization efforts in the past Each time NBAA and its members have raised a unified voice on the issue ensuring that congress is aware of our industrys real and significant concerns over the creation of a privatized ATC funded through user fees That said the airlines appear more determined than ever before to push this concept And that means the entire GA community faces an epic battle ahead Multiple voices against ATC privatization NBAA was among numerous aviation stakeholders to immediately renounce privatization language in the administrations budget proposal Later that same month a group of 16 aviation organizations including NBAA sent a letter to the congressional leaders who have jurisdiction over aviation citing concerns over the notion of creating a new governance and funding model for our nations aviation system based on systems in other parts of the world The letter goes on to state The general aviation community has very real and long standing concerns which include but are not limited to 16 PROFESSIONAL PILOT May 2017 Air traffic control tower at LAX Los Angeles Intl CA With privatization the controllers would be employees of a company yet to be determined not FAA and user charges for aircraft operations would be established user fees These concerns are based on our operating experiences in these foreign systems and the impact they have had on general aviation The letters were sent to House Transportation and Infrastructure T I Committee Chair Bill Shuster R 9 PA Ranking Member Peter DeFazio D 4 OR T I Aviation Subcommittee Chair Frank LoBiondo R 2 NJ and Ranking Member Rick Larsen D 2 WA as well as Senate Commerce Committee Chair John Thune R SD and Ranking Member Bill Nelson DFL and Aviation Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt R MO and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell D WA Without question NBAA wants the US to remain the worlds leader in all aspects of aviation not just today but 5 10 and even 25 years from now However based on the experiences of other privatized ATC systems across the world there is ample reason to believe that innovation and efficiency could in many cases be stifled not fostered in an airline centric privatized ATC system Fortunately we have been joined in our concerns over ATC privatization by a diverse group of conservative and liberal think tanks consumer groups rural organizations federal and local policymakers and a demonstrated majority of American citizens Next steps NBAA welcomes President Trumps promise to invest in revitalizing the countrys infrastructure including aviation We will continue our work with congress and the administration not on a distracting debate over ATC privatization but rather on modernizing the aviation system via policies that offer targeted solutions to identified challenges That is why when legislation is introduced calling for a privatized ATC system funded through user fees it will be imperative for your elected officials to once again hear your concerns about ATC privatization