Buys Into NATCA Spin Campaign To Stop "Privatization"

As members of Congress prepare to return to Washington next week to decide whether to contract out a limited number of air traffic control services, Rep. Phil English, (R-PA) last week joined NATCA's local air traffic controllers at Erie International Airport to call attention to the potential consequences of "privatization."

"The safety of the traveling public, here in Pennsylvania and across the nation, needs to be a top priority for Congress," said Rep. English. "The air traffic controllers here at Erie International are typical of their colleagues everywhere - dedicated, highly trained professionals whose only standard is perfection. We should join together to oppose this privatization proposal."

A pretty hefty NATCA Spin campaign has been launched to urge Members of Congress to vote against privatizing air traffic control. The ads are currently running in Erie and other parts of Pennsylvania, as well as across the nation. The ads, sponsored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (who has a vested interest in this matter), ask Congress not to 'put safety at risk' by privatizing the skies and taking air traffic control out of the hands of FAA controllers (NATCA members). The ads try to point to how the system has supposedly failed in Great Britain, Canada and Australia, countries that have all witnessed government bail-outs, increased delays and serious safety concerns--though it appears that NATCA is playing somewhat fast and loose with the facts by trying to draw these comparisons. 

A bill that would have prohibited privatizing the nation's air traffic control system was passed by a bipartisan majority in the both the Senate and House of Representatives earlier this year. But language was inserted that would put 69 towers in the hands of private corporations. Members of Congress will now vote on a conference report which privatizes those 69 towers. 

"We have the safest, most efficient, air traffic control system in the world. Contracting out air traffic control to the lowest bidder will jeopardize this system dedicated to maintaining 100 percent safety, 100 percent of the time," said John Carr, NATCA President. "Our air traffic control system should simply not be entrusted to companies more concerned with profit than with safety."

During the late night debate surrounding the conference report, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, exempted some towers in his home state of Alaska. Unlike Chairman Young's home airports, 69 others have been placed on the list of air traffic control towers to be privatized.

"Chairman Young clearly was concerned enough about privatizing air traffic control that he exempted his own airports," Carr stated. "The public needs to ask its members, why should it only be safe to fly in Alaska?"

NATCA, which has not impressed us with it's command of a number of factual matters (and doesn't return calls to discuss them), of late, is putting on quite a show with this effort and a growing number in the aviation community are starting to question their credibility over this issue.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org