A4A, U.S. Airlines Renew Push for Independent ATC Agency
A federally chartered, not-for-profit organization would run the U.S. air traffic control system better than the FAA now does, airlines say.
Inefficient operation of the U.S. ATC system is costing airlines and passengers $30 billion a year, according to A4A CEO Nicholas Calio. (Photo: Bill Carey)

Trade group Airlines for America (A4A) rolled out the chief executives of six U.S. airlines on December 1 to argue its case for creating an independent ATC organization separate from the Federal Aviation Administration. With new legislation to renew or “reauthorize” the FAA’s operating authority due by March, the time is ripe to fundamentally restructure the agency, the group contends.


A4A proposes that a “federally chartered, not-for-profit corporation” operating independently of the FAA assume responsibility for running the nation’s ATC system, a model similar to that of an air navigation service provider. Nav Canada, a non-share capital corporation that operates by charging airlines and other aircraft operators for its services, is the example most often cited by proponents of ATC reform. The U.S. organization also would be funded by users of the system, a mix of operators dominated by airlines.


The current, radar-based ATC system is “hampered by a governing funding structure at the FAA that inhibits innovation and the swift adoption of modern technology,” Nicholas Calio, A4A president and CEO, told reporters during a conference call. “It’s costing passengers and airlines about $30 billion a year in delays and cancellations. Anybody who sits on a tarmac trying to get, for instance, from Washington, D.C., to New York City, knows you leave and then you sit, then you fly, then you circle—all because of the congestion.”


U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is committed to passing a reauthorization bill that fundamentally changes the FAA when its current, six-month authorization expires on March 31, and there is bipartisan support for such legislation in Congress, Calio said. Joining him on the call were CEOs Doug Parker of American Airlines, Brad Tilden of Alaska Air Group, Robin Hayes of JetBlue, Gary Kelly of Southwest, David Bronczek of FedEx Express and William Flynn of Atlas Air.


“We are seeking a transformational change to the way the U.S. air traffic control system is financed and governed,” said Parker, who is chairman of A4A’s board of directors. “We are in favor of an ATC system with stable and predictable funding, outside the federal budget, and a system that gives stakeholders a much greater voice in setting the priorities. The model we are advocating for is not privatization; indeed, we are opposed to privatization. What we’re talking about is an independent, not-for-profit governance structure that would be accountable to all sectors of aviation.”


Reacting to the A4A call, National Business Aviation Association president and CEO Edward Bolen charged that airlines are promoting an ATC governing structure that “they have designed and they hope to control for their benefit.” NBAA favors an ATC system that remains accountable to Congress and that generates revenue through fuel taxes, “the most efficient, effective and fair way for general aviation to contribute” to the system’s operation, he said.


Aside from airline industry priorities, Congress is “sensitive” to the needs of rural communities and consumers and recognizes the importance of business aviation to the U.S. economy, Bolen told AIN. “The airlines are coming together once again to renew their push for the ‘A4A privatization bill.’ The point is, they’re talking about putting control of the system outside of Congress,” he argued.