EAA Remains Vigilant: Airlines Not Giving up on ATC Privatization

June 14, 2018 - As EAA noted when the ATC privatization proposal in the House was withdrawn earlier this year, any celebration should be tempered with a guarded eye toward efforts by proponents to revitalize the effort in the future. That seems to be already occurring.

As reported in Politico a few days ago, words from United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz indicate a renewed effort could be coming soon. As reported by Politico’s Tanya Snyder:

Airlines are beginning to figure out their next step in efforts to “modernize” the air traffic control system, but it'll still be a while before anything is made public, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz told reporters [on June 7].

In an event at the Economic Club of Washington, Munoz acknowledged his disappointment at the failure of a plan, supported by the airlines, to separate air traffic control from the FAA.

“The airline industry is trying to formulate what the next plan would be,” Munoz said after the event. “There's an outline coming together, but it'll be some time before we all get aligned around it.”

He said after the airlines coalesce around a plan, they'll “provide that input and then work with the government to make that move forward.”

EAA and other GA organizations support the continued modernization of the national airspace system, but not at the cost of equal access to the airspace or minimizing GA’s important role within the nation’s aviation infrastructure. Tens of thousands of EAA members made their voices heard to their congressional representatives over the past two years, opposing any plan that would turn over a national asset to a governing board dominated by airline interests.