EAA And Other General Aviation Groups Oppose ATC Privatization Plan

The Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh has joined 15 other general aviation organizations to write a letter to President Trump opposing a plan to privatize the air traffic control system. Dick Knapinski of EAA says it would create a board that would be controlled primarily by the interests of the airlines. He says the board would set the rates, they would make the determinations and there would be no oversight and no relief valve in case somebody feels they made a wrong decision. He says modernization is already taking place so you can’t use that as an argument for privatization. Knapinski says people who point out that Canada has had a private air traffic control system for years haven’t considered how much more traffic the U.S. deals with. He says if you take all of the air traffic that takes place in Canada each year it is equal roughly to all the air traffic that takes place in Dallas and Houston combined. Legislation is expected to be introduced next month for the privatization plan. Similar legislation last year was shelved.