Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), as well as Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), recently sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation opposing privatizing the […]
ATC
Privatizing ATC: What could go wrong?
The airlines are terrible at running their businesses, so let’s turn air traffic control over to them, says Andrew Schmertz, the CEO of Hopscotch Air, and a contributor to the Huffington Post. “What could go wrong?” he asks with tongue in cheek in a recent post. He notes that the airlines have decades of losses […]
Paying for ATC at SUN ‘n FUN
In the weeks before SUN ’n FUN opened, fly-in officials found themselves scrambling after the FAA told them the estimate for air traffic control services at this year’s event would be a whopping $325,000. That’s a big difference from last year’s bill of $202,000. “We told them we can’t survive,” recalls SUN ’n FUN President […]
Pictures of the day: The art of the airport tower
A new exhibit, “Art of the Airport Tower,” opened Nov. 11 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The exhibit, composed of 50 photographs by Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo, explores the varied forms and functions of airport traffic control towers in the U.S. and around the world. The exhibit will remain on display at […]
First phase of remote tower demo ends
LEESBURG, Va. — The first phase of the Leesburg Airport Remote Tower Demonstration Program wrapped up Oct. 26 after four months of collecting data. The next phase of the program will go through mid-2016, with the ultimate goal of operating remote air traffic control towers at airports that are now non-towered. The technology was developed by Saab, […]
Polls show voters overwhelmingly oppose privatizing ATC
By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters oppose privatizing the operations of the air traffic control system by taking it from the FAA and turning it over to a private non-profit entity, according to a new poll. A recent telephone survey conducted by Global Strategy Group of 801 registered voters nationwide between Aug. 8 and Aug. […]
FAA hiring: Fly the diversity-friendly skies
By WILLIAM HAMILTON Satire: Just as your aircraft reaches, say, 30,000 feet on your airline flight, say, from Denver to Chicago, the Captain says, “Hello. This is your Captain speaking. Welcome aboard Olympic Mountain General Airlines. Okay, I know some of you call us: OMG! But, seriously, passengers who studied urban sociology in college may […]
Call to action over ATC privatization and user fees issued
In his most outspoken opposition to date about a Congressional plan for legislation that would create a privatized air traffic control (ATC) system funded by user fees, Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association, sounded a call to action to oppose such a plan before a gathering of more than 3,000 attendees at […]
New study illustrates roadblocks to modernizing ATC
WASHINGTON D.C. — A new Hudson Institute study finds that America’s air traffic control system has fallen seriously behind modern information technology. Case studies illustrate the organizational roadblocks preventing the FAA from modernizing its flight procedures, communications and navigation technology, and governing structure. The report also outlines the steps necessary to bring the US system […]