Luke Skywalker
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An air traffic controller works May 21, 2015, in the tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J.(Photo: Julio Cortez, AP)
WASHINGTON<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— A controversial proposal that puts the nation's air traffic controls<span style="color: Red;">*</span>into private hands<span style="color: Red;">*</span>burst on to the legislative scene Wednesday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pitting pilots<span style="color: Red;">*</span>against many airlines and the people who manage<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the skies.
The legislation, opposed by powerful lawmakers in both parties, drew unusual support from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the air traffic controllers' union, which<span style="color: Red;">*</span>says the growing inefficiencies, dated equipment and unstable funding<span style="color: Red;">*</span>call for a drastic response.
Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the Transportation Committee, who proposed the change said it<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would insulate the air traffic control system from the funding whims of Congress,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>which, during a 2013<span style="color: Red;">*</span>budget fight, shut down the government and furloughed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>air traffic controllers.
Shuster says the air traffic control system under the FAA is safe, but "incredibly inefficient."
The problems, he said, "will only get worse as passenger levels grow and as the FAA falls further behind in modernizing the system."
Lawmakers and various air traffic controller organization<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have proposed privatization at least eight times over the past 40 years.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Dozens of other countries have privatized their air-traffic systems, but skeptics question whether private systems, such as the one adopted in Canada, would work in the larger, more complex U.S. airspace.
This time, National Air Traffic Controllers Association backed the proposal, and Airlines for America, a trade group for most major carriers,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>airline<span style="color: Red;">*</span>say<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that a private corporation governed by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>representatives of the aviation industry could move faster than FAA to upgrade equipment and adopt more efficient flight paths.
The opposition, however, lined up even before Schuster introduced the legislation.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>House Appropriations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., and the top Democrat, Nita Lowey of New York, said in a letter Monday to House Speaker Paul Ryan that such a move give the public less leverage to influence how the system operations.
Senate Appropriations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and the top Democrat, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, in a Jan. 27 letter said privatization would mean "less oversight and less accountability."
The top Democrat on the Transportation Committee,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, said the proposal gives the airlines too much power.
"The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>same people who today determine your baggage costs would determine what you would pay to use the air-traffic control system," DeFazio said. "I don't think that gives consumers a lot of confidence."
The Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing 52,000 pilots, fears<span style="color: Red;">*</span>airlines would shoulder the entire cost<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of air-traffic control rather than spreading the costs among all aircraft.
Delta Air Lines also parted ways with its industry brethren.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Delta’s senior vice president for flight operations, Capt. Steve Dickson, said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>privatizing air-traffic control won’t reduce heavy traffic in the Northeast and could distract from current efforts to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ease<span style="color: Red;">*</span>congestion.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Delta CEO Richard Anderson called the proposal "unnecessary and unwise" in a Tuesday letter to Shuster.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta have remained neutral on the proposal.
Under Schuster's proposal, the private, non-profit corporation<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would governed by an 11-member board that includes representatives appointed by government, airlines, general aviation and both the pilots' and controllers' unions.
The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>group Airlines for America<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suggests airline taxes and fees, amounting to $13 billion a year, would easily cover the $10 billion of operating the privatized air-traffic control system.
USA TODAY
House transportation chairman: Privatize air-traffic control
Shuster’s proposal kicks off the debate on broader legislation to renew FAA policy that expires in March. Pilot training, airport fees and drone regulations will also be up for discussion.
The 273-page bill includes provisions that:
• Require airlines to refund baggage fees for bags delayed more than 24 hours on domestic flights.
• Ban the use of cell phones for in-flight voice calls on scheduled passenger flights.
• Authorize the Transportation Department to establish a smartphone application for consumer complaints.
• Require large and medium airports to provide private rooms in every terminal for nursing mothers.
• Require airlines to notify families<span style="color: Red;">*</span>before tickets are booked<span style="color: Red;">*</span>if family members will be<span style="color: Red;">*</span>assigned seats that
aren't together.
USA TODAY
Air-traffic control union chief: Privatization possible, but funding crucial
Shuster's committee votes on the bill Feb. 11.
USA TODAY
Airline executives urge privatization of air-traffic control
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