ATC User Fees

More port for big business?



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AVflash Volume 11, Number 17a -- April 25, 2005

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D.C. LOOKS AT PRIVATIZATION...
The House Aviation Subcommittee last Wednesday held a hearing on
the commercialization of air traffic services, saying the FAA is
now in crisis and at a "crossroads." The FAA has failed to meet
schedules and deploy new technology despite billions of dollars in
spending, the committee said. At least 30 other countries have
switched from government services to private providers. The
committee heard testimony from representatives of Nav Canada and a
German air-traffic agency, but noted that in terms of operational
scale and airspace complexity it is difficult to compare the U.S.
National Airspace System and foreign systems.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#189632

...AS NATCA RESPONDS
U.S. air traffic controllers handle more than 64 million takeoffs
and landings each year, and Cleveland controllers alone handle
more operations annually than Canada's entire privatized system
... according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
(NATCA). NATCA President John Carr last week spoke out against
privatization. "We have the world's safest, largest and most
complex system. Why in the world would we ever dream of changing
it?" Carr said. "Risking the public's safety by putting air
traffic control up for sale should never be an option." The fiscal
crunch at the FAA is also raising more fears of user fees.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#189633