Employee groups at the Federal Aviation Administration have joined forces to oppose proposals for privatizing air traffic control functions.
The American Federation of Government Employees along with six other groups representing frontline workers and managers penned a joint letter to lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voicing their disapproval to privatization.
‘Quite simply, overhauling the entire aviation system by removing air-traffic control from federal oversight and funding will be a serious setback for its development and growth," the letter said.
"Our air-traffic control system is a national public asset, and we strongly believe it should remain in the public trust."
A transition to privatization would jeopardize all the hard work gone into the almost complete Next Generation Air Transportation System, it said.
Major airlines are behind moves to remove ATC from federal oversight which critics say gives the big airlines too much sway at the cost of non-commercial air services and local communities not well served by scheduled carriers.
"Companies and communities across the U.S., which rely on general aviation for business, civil services and a host of other needs, simply cannot risk turning over the system to a private board beyond the reach of Congress," said National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) CEO Ed Bolen in written testimony to the House Transportation committee.
Leading the charge for privatization is committee chairman Rep Bill Shuster who said: "Previous efforts to reform the FAA and modernize the system teach us that the only way to realize these benefits is to get the government out of the way."
