In a major policy shift, the US airline industry’s largest trade group and several allies are no longer pursuing privatising US air traffic control (ATC).
But Airlines for America (A4A) and nearly two dozen other lobby groups are now advocating for a major overhaul of the Federal Aviation Administration and its ATC operation, urging leaders in Washington to finally address longstanding alleged problems.
Some executives are also expressing optimism that the administration of President Donald Trump will throw weight behind such efforts.
“The Trump administration has committed to investing deeply, in terms of improving the overall technologies that are used in the air traffic control systems, and modernisation [of] the skies,” Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian told CBS News on 19 February. “They have committed to hiring additional controllers and… safety investigators.”
Just days ago, news broke that the FAA fired several hundred employees, part of a broader Trump administration shake-up in the name of efficiency and cost cutting. Critics allege the layoffs will sacrifice safety – an assertion rejected by Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who says no “critical safety personnel” were fired.
“I’m not concerned about that at all,” Bastian says. “The cuts do not affect us at all.”
With the Trump administration seemingly poised to further roil the FAA, Delta’s trade group A4A and some 25 other lobby organisations have joined forces, seeking a seat at the table.
“We are aligned on not pursuing privatisation of US air traffic control services and believe it would be a distraction from these needed investments and reforms,” the groups write in a joint 19 February letter to lawmakers on the House and Senate transportation and appropriations committees.
Other signatories include Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), National Business Travel Association (NBAA) and the Aeronautical Repair Station Association.
Privatising ATC gained momentum under the first Trump administration, having support from airlines, A4A, NATCA and Trump himself.
Neither A4A nor NATCA responded when asked why they changed their stance. NATCA, however, says it only supported privatisation once, in 2017 and 2018, because that proposal met all its requirements.
The shift surprised Bob Poole, an ATC privatisation advocate who directs transportation policy at libertarian think tank Reason Foundation. Poole suspects the change could reflect NATCA’s new leadership and A4A’s pending leadership change. That group’s CEO Nicolas Calio intends to retire at year-end.
‘EMERGENCY FUNDING’
Though privatisation is no longer a priority, the aviation groups are now urging for “robust emergency funding” to modernise ATC systems and hire more controllers, their letter says.
“We must support air traffic controller workforce hiring and training, modernise and deploy state-of-the-art air traffic control facilities and equipment, [and] implement procurement and programme efficiencies,” the letter says.
It also calls for FAA “budget reforms”, saying “a predictable source of funding via a multi-year account is necessary to begin recapitalising major infrastructure assets”.
The FAA receives most of its cash from the Airport & Airway Trust Fund, which holds money collected from aircraft fuel taxes and fees and taxes paid by airline passengers.
But Congress must authorise disbursements, meaning FAA funding comes sporadically via short-term funding bills. And the agency can lose funding if Congress fails to pass new appropriations laws. As a result, the FAA has struggled to invest in long-term modernisation projects, critics say.
The groups are positioning themselves as a united front, with NBAA CEO Ed Bolen saying, “The entire aviation community has united around strengthening the safety and efficiency of our nation’s air transportation system”.
