Nearly 100 general aviation groups have banded together in their opposition to the House proposal to carve the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system out of the FAA. Three-dozen groups last week initially issued a statement to Congress expressing their concerns.Since that time, the number of signatories to that statement has tripled, marking one of the largest collaborations of general aviation organizations on such an issue.
“The [proposed ATC] reforms will produce uncertainty and unintended consequences without achieving the desired outcomes,” the statement said. “We have concluded that any structural and governance reforms that require protections for an important sector of users is fundamentally flawed.” The groups further agreed that the billions of dollars and time spent on the transition to a not-for-profit entity could be better applied to continuing progress on ATC modernization.
Noting that the coalition represents the size, significance and diversity of the general aviation community, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said, “The group is sending a loud and clear signal of opposition to ATC privatization that echoes the same position held by other groups on the political left and right, elected officials at the federal and local levels and a majority of American citizens.”
NATA warned that the House plans to vote on ATC privatization next week and thus urged its members to contact their elected members of Congress to oppose H.R.2997, the 21st Century AIRR Act.