Professional Pilot, October 2016

VIEWPOINTS These editorials are the opinions of the contributors NBAAs Bolen warns private ATC would put airlines in charge UAS Exec VP Husary predicts explosive growth in mobile tech TechCasts Halal sees dangers with Trump says Hillary is a better leader 22 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2016 the US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year Accordingly NBAA and the business aviation community quickly mobilized with a powerful unified voice against this legislative threat When NBAA sounded a Call to Action for members to contact their Congressional representatives on the issue thousands of individuals did so within hours Business aviation groups from across the country did likewise Of course NBAA wasnt alone in raising alarm over the House legislation A host of organizations representing the left center and right of the political spectrum also raised various concerns over the bill When the Senate took up the matter of FAA reauthorization the resulting legislation in that chamber set aside proposals for ATC privatization Absent that divisive and risky notion the Senate FAA reauthorization bill was quickly and overwhelmingly passed on that side of Capitol Hill Unfortunately House and Senate leaders were unable to produce a single legislative package reconciling the 2 measures before funding for the FAA expired in July and instead approved an extension of current FAA funding and programs through September 2017 While the passage of a complete reauthorization would have been ideal the extension brought some good news in that it rejected ATC privatization funded by user fees while also reflecting several priorities advocated for the general aviation community Ed Bolen President CEO National Business Aviation Association A pause not an end to the fight against ATC privatization Readers of Professional Pilot are aware that the National Business Aviation Associations annual Business Aviation Convention Exhibition NBAA BACE always presents a moment for discussion of the industrys policy priorities As the business aviation community gathers this year in Orlando FL from Nov 1 3 for this annual event there will again be much discussion about challenges and opportunities on the policy front Unquestionably the most significant concern that again confronts business aviation has been a renewed push in Washington DC to create a privatized air traffic control ATC system funded by new user fees Those promoting this concept have been doing so as part of the Congressional debate underway over reauthorization of funding and programs for the FAA Heres a look at what Ill be telling convention goers when I update them on the situation We must remember that arguments in favor of ATC privatization are nothing new The airlines have long supported and lobbied for the idea which typically involves removing ATC from Congressional oversight public interest and handing that oversight to a board of directors largely represented by airline interests The result would be to effectively give control of the ATC system to the airlines Once they are granted such authority they will make decisions about which communities get served where investments are made when and how much it will cost to fly and what the payment mechanism for doing so including user fees will be In other words putting the airlines in charge of the air traffic system would promote a focus not on whats in the public interest but in the airline industrys business interests That represents a genuinely dangerous proposition not only for the business aviation community but for all citizens and towns that rely on general aviation for business connectivity and a host of vital civil services Nevertheless despite the controversy over ATC privatization the concept has found supporters in Congress An FAA reauthorization bill containing ATC privatization funded through user fees and governed by an airline centric board of directors was introduced and approved by For the total history of ATC in the US controllers have been US Govt employees trained by and paid for the US FAA Shown here are IFR Room controllers working to safely expedite air traffic in and out of the Chicago area ORD MDW PWK