Issue Discussed At White House 'Town Hall' Meeting

Aviation consultant and former AOPA president and CEO Craig Fuller says that the aviation community, and the public, should be wary of what he says are "alternative facts" around airspace modernization talks.

Writing for The Hill, Fuller (pictured) says that White House Economic Advisor Gary Cohn participated in a recent "White House Town Hall meeting" focused on infrastructure and other initiatives. He said that many "alternative facts" were presented in the discussion of ATC privatization.

Fuller point out that the idea of establishing a private, non-profit entity to provide air traffic control services has been bandied about for more than 20 years, and it has yet to gain significant traction. He says that other countries where such privatization has been successful have much smaller systems than does the U.S., and the transition can take years to accomplish. "Given the current achievements and pace of modernization occurring in the U.S., major structural reform now could actually slow the progress we are making — and there’s no guarantee such an effort would create savings," Fuller writes.

Fuller says that one of the principal advantages of an FAA-operated system is that the entire system of more than 5,000 public-use airports meets one standard. He also challenges assertions that a privatized ATC would result in cutting down tarmac delay and flight times.

Fuller says the exercise in modernizing the air traffic control system should be "reality-based", and one that recognizes "recognize the extraordinary work that has been done on modernization by the aviation community, manufacturers and others in the U.S."

(Image from file)

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