ATC Privatization

The ATC system is one of the most fundamental systems that the aviation community relies on. The current system is set up for aircraft to fly to their destination via waypoints that lead the aircraft on its way. However the way of flying in this system may not be the most direct way. A pilot may have to fly around a city or fly more north than was planned which in the end can lead to delays. The new NextGen system is hoping to change the way pilots fly. This satellite based system helps aircraft fly on more direct paths to their destinations. According to the FAA website for the NextGen product there can be 8-12 more departures an hour due to the aircraft taking these new paths. This new system can also help aircraft avoid weather delays, including rain, snow, and low visibilities by allowing the pilots to know more information ahead of time while en-route and can quickly change their route ("NextGen"). An example of how the NextGen system would work is normal flights from the west coast to Florida fly to the panhandle, than make the right turn and fly down the state, with this new system the aircraft would be able to directly cross the gulf of Mexico more safety than possible now ("Creates New Paths Over Gulf of Mexico"). Overall I see that the NextGen system will provide a much safer and quicker way to fly.

Privatizing the atc system is becoming a hot topic more and more in the aviation industry. There are many different opinions that people can provide and organizations that both support and oppose this new idea. Reading an article on Bloomberg by Justin Bachman, Delta Airlines has long opposed privatizing the system but the other major  airlines support the change. Delta mainly disapproves because of the resources that have been put into the new NextGen system (Bachman).   One organization that does not support the privatization is the NBAA. This new system would be supported by user fees and they want to make sure that its members know that it would hurt the system in the long run ("2015 NEWS"). The airlines for America group tends to lean toward privatizing the system in order to help advance the system along and get the FAA out of the way and model after the Nav Canada model(Bachman).

There are other nations that have privatized their air traffic control systems. Whether or not this is the way for the United States to go there is a bunch of opinions on both sides of the table. Some of the countries that I found that have privatized their systems include; Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. According to Susan Carey of the Wall Street Journal the countries “have made the transition in the past two decades, giving them access to capital markets and the ability to sell bonds based on the user fees they charge airspace users (Carey).” Privatizing the atc system could be both a good thing and bad which could also lead to new costs that the airlines and general aviation did not expect. Something interesting Carey spoke about in her article is that the United States is trying to compare its atc system to the one in Canada. “Some critics in the U.S. say Nav Canada isn't applicable because the U.S. has much busier, more complex airspace (Carey).” Which is very true what she brought up there is a huge difference in the amount of flights in the system at the same time its not comparing apples to apples.

In order for the atc system to be privatized the current system in place by the FAA would have to be shut down. According to Bachman, “House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) to back legislation that would kick the FAA out of air traffic control (Bachman).” Therefore in order to begin this process some legislation would need to be passed in congress for this change to happen, and this is not something that is not going to change overnight, this would have to be a big overall.

I personally don’t think that the atc system needs to be privatized.  I think that it would cost more money to make the transition, in which the FAA has already set up a system that is working. Some may say that the current system is failing or costly but with the prospects of the new NextGen system I think there is plenty to look forward too.

Works Cited

2015 NEWS. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.nbaa.org/news/2015/20151002-nbaa-shares-concerns-about-air-traffic-control-privatization-user-fees-with-south-florida-group.php

Bachman, J. (2015, September 10). Should the U.S. Privatize Air Traffic Control? Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-11/should-the-u-s-privatize-air-traffic-control-

Carey, S. (2014, August 24). Sparks Fly on Privatizing Air-Traffic Control. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/sparks-fly-on-privatizing-air-traffic-control-1408921476

Creates New Paths Over Gulf of Mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/stories/?slide=31

NextGen. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/experience/