Former FAA execs support air traffic control reform

Three previous chief operating officers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s proposal to shift the air traffic control function of the FAA to a self-financing, non-profit organization.    Three former chief operating officers of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expressed support for President Donald Trump’s plan to reform the nation’s air traffic control system in a letter sent to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Penn., last Thursday.
   The three former FAA COOs include Russell Chew (2003-2007), Henry Krakowski (2007-2011) and David Grizzle (2011-2013).
   Their support came in the wake of Trump last Monday outlining his plan on shifting the air traffic control function of the FAA to a self-financing, non-profit organization.
   Trump said the nation’s air traffic control system is in desperate need of upgrades, and noted how it is having to work with radar and ground based radio systems that are not even being made anymore.
   He said his proposal to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system would reduce wait times, increase route efficiency and lead to far fewer delays.
   “President Trump’s principles to reform ATC represent the bold action we need now to address the fact that our air traffic infrastructure and technology continue to fall behind,” the former FAA executives said in the letter.
   “The accumulated effects of budget unpredictability and a bureaucratic organizational structure have severely slowed progress on implementing next-generation technologies and inhibited our ability to properly staff facilities and procure the best equipment for our nation’s air traffic controllers,” they added. “Our nation’s air traffic control system should not be treated like a political football and subjected to the vagaries of the annual budgeting process.
    “The ATC service provider should be regulated at arms-length by the FAA, just as air carriers, aircraft and engine manufacturers, and all other components of the aviation system are regulated by the FAA.”