The National Airspace System (NAS) was created to control all of the traffic in the sky. It is made up of all of the airspace above us, as well as the facilities and components that allow us to navigate that airspace, both ground based as well as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and satellites in the sky. In 1958 the Federal Aviation Act created the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and gave the responsibility of the NAS to the government, creating Air Traffic Control (ATC) positions. The positions cover everything from ground control to tower, clearance delivery, approach/departure, as well as terminal radar approach control (TRACON). Between all of these positions every aspect of the NAS is covered and makes up a large portion of the FAA employment base. Under the current system there are many different facilities that must be maintained by the federal government like the very high omnidirectional range (VOR), non-directional beacons (NDB), automatic direction finder (ADF) as well as satellites and other ground-based facilities that work with satellites. The FAA is weeding these ground-based navigation facilities out as they come due for maintenance. The goal is to completely convert to the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (NextGen) to save money and increase efficiency, unlike the current system which costs a great deal to maintain as well as they do not provide the most direct routes for airplanes and leads to more fuel being needed which costs the end user more money.
This NextGen system relies on an array of digital technology linking satellite-based GPS systems directly to the cockpits of jets anywhere in the U.S. (Green, 2015). This new system will greatly reduce costs to both the federal government as well as to the end user by not requiring as much maintenance to facilities and providing more direct routes for airplanes thus saving fuel. The FAA advertises a savings of 39.7 billion dollars to the airlines in reduced fuel, crews, and the increase in flights available due to time saved. Additionally, the FAA claims that there will be a savings of 6.5 billion dollars to the government with the increased safety and reduced maintenance required.
While there are plenty of positive angles for the privatization of ATC, there are plenty of people and organizations that are against the idea of privatization. The Experimental Aircraft Association) EAA has come out with an article stating the "facts" that they foresee with this proposal (H.R. 4441).
“Let’s lay out the facts on this: moving to a privatized ATC system would not increase efficiency or safety, nor would it save any significant money,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO/chairman. “What it would do is create an additional aviation bureaucracy, since FAA would still remain, and also create a government-approved monopoly on air traffic services that is dominated by airlines and commercial aviation interests. This will hurt the safest and most complex aviation system in the world, which is why EAA is unequivocally opposed” (EAA, 2016).
Among these views, the EAA also states in the article that some of the other problems with H.R. 4441 are: Few promised savings or efficiency improvements, likely increase in costs, airline dominance of ATC governance, GA will lose services over time, and loss of government oversight. What does this all mean? Basically what the EAA is saying here is that since the airline industry is so large, they will take priority in airspace as well as the cost savings is directed mainly at them and this will lead to more costs for the GA community. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) feels similarly to the EAA. In an article published by the NBAA in 2016, they make it clear that the main problem for them is the "user fees" that are going to be associated with privatizing ATC.
"In a submission published Jan. 7, NBAA COO Steve Brown (a former FAA deputy administrator) told readers “a seminal moment in the UK system’s history came when the supposedly ‘stable and predictable funding stream’ that would be generated by its user fees proved to be so volatile that it needed a massive bailout from the government and taxpayers.” Brown went on to cite a UK Airport Commission report pointing to “more delays, higher fares, and reduced connectivity” at airports in London and across the UK" (NBAA, 2016).
Almost 50 countries have moved to privatizing ATC while only two other major countries have privatized ATC, Canada, and Great Britain. Neither one of these situations can be compared to ours due to the fact that air traffic is much greater in the United States than in these other two countries. Additionally there is no evidence that privatizing these countries has saved money, and in fact, the Great Britain government had to bail out the ATC industry after the 2001 terror attacks when air travel declined greatly (nytimes, 2016). The majority of funding for the private ATC comes from airline ticket tax and user fees, this is the main reason why the GA community is against the proposal, as well as Delta Airlines' lack of support.
If the privatization of ATC ever takes effect what will happen is the FAA funding will go away and the control of ATC will be released to private, not for profit, organizations while the FAA will maintain a heavy oversight of the system. The idea was proposed in the latest FAA reauthorization bill but was left out of the final draft that was approved in July so it will not take effect yet (Carey, 2016). The reauthorization is only extended until September of 2017 so talks can, and probably will resume shortly to be introduced on the next bill. Once it is passed through congress it will have to be signed into law (or vetoed) by the president.
I do not feel that the ATC system would be more efficient if it were privatized. Mainly because I think there would be conflicts in control since the FAA will still have a heavy oversight of the system. Additionally, I think that it will create rifts in the aviation community, mainly affecting the GA community as well as corporate aviation with the user fees potentially being too great for the common aviator to afford.
References:
America's Air Traffic Control System Is Finally Going Digital. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2015/09/28/america-s-air-traffic-control-system-is-finally-going-digital.html
ATC Privatization Brings Few Savings, Threatens General Aviation Services | EAA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/02-18-2016-atc-privatization-brings-few-savings-threatens-general-aviation-services
By The Numbers Air Traffic Plans and Publications Environmental Reviews Flight Information. (n.d.). Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/
Don’t Privatize Air Traffic Control. (2016). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/opinion/dont-privatize-air-traffic-control.html?_r=0
FAA Reauthorization and Modernization. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.nbaa.org/advocacy/issues/modernization/20160108-nbaa-counters-pro-air-traffic-control-privatization-op-ed-with-facts.php
National Airspace System Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/nas_redesign/regional_guidance/eastern_reg/nynjphl_redesign/documentation/feis/appendix/media/Appendix_A-National_Airspace_System_Overview.pdf
I like how you pointed out that the traffic volume in the United States is so much higher, which makes it harder to compare the privatized ATC organizations in other parts of the world. I didn't put as much consideration of that into my post, so it was a good insight.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you have a great handle on the current situation with the NAS. I learned a lot from reading your post. In my post I failed to include the fact that old ground based navigational equipment such as VOR's is trending out because of maintenance costs. That's a key point in understanding why GPS is so much more cost efficient.
ReplyDeleteI think you made an excellent point regarding the volume of traffic in the United States as compared to countries currently having success with privatized ATC. I feel like the argument that another country has successfully adopted some new system or way of doing things is often moot, every country has its own unique set of conditions and requirements.
ReplyDelete