Committee Chair Says Goals Have Not Been Achieved In 30 Years Of Efforts

A hearing Tuesday of the Aviation Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) (pictured), will examine options for reforming air traffic control (ATC) operations in the U.S. transportation system.

For over three decades, the FAA has led various initiatives intended to modernize the Nation’s air traffic control system. However, these efforts have yet to achieve the goal, and concerns about the agency’s implementation continue to be raised.

In light of the delays and cost overruns that have plagued the FAA’s ATC modernization efforts, three bipartisan federal commissions have called for unifying FAA’s air traffic control operations into an independent, nongovernmental, self-financing entity. Furthermore, since 1987, over 50 nations have shifted the responsibility for providing ATC services from the national government to independent, self-financed ATC service providers. Next week’s hearing will examine options for similar ATC reform in the United States.
 
This hearing of the Subcommittee on Aviation, entitled “Options for FAA Air Traffic Control Reform,” is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.
 
The witness list includes:

• Mr. Matt Hampton, Assistant Inspector General for Aviation Audits, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Mr. Douglas Parker, Chairman and CEO, American Airlines Group, Inc.; on behalf of Airlines for America
• Mr. Robert Poole, Director of Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation
• Mr. Paul Rinaldi, President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association
• Mr. David Grizzle
• Ms. Dorothy Robyn
• Mr. Craig Fuller, Vice Chairman, FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC)

(Image from file)

FMI: http://transportation.house.gov