ATC Privatization
According to Craig Freudenrich from howstuffworks, "During peak air travel times in the United States, there are about 5,000 airplanes in the sky every hour. This translates to approximately 50,000 aircraft operating in our skies each day" (Freudenrich, 2001). The question is how does ATC deal with so much traffic each day without having any emergencies or collisions in the sky? The United States deals with airspace by dividing it into 21 zones and within each zone are TRACONs (Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol). These zones also have their own airspace with a 5 mile radius around it and this airspace is all ran by the FAA. There are Air Traffic Control System Command Centers, Air Route Traffic Control Centers, Terminal Radar Approach Control, Air Traffic Control Towers and Flight Service Stations. All of these stations and approach controls have to be able to work in unison for flights coming in or taking off safely. The way these air traffic controllers move these aircrafts along is by passing them to the next controller once they enter their airspace. Today, the FAA is changing the way they deal with traffic, congestion and compensating for weather by creating a system called NextGen. NextGen is to be considered a nationwide system that directs the flow of traffic in the airport and manages all the traffic before the next airplane takes off. How all this will work is that aircraft will be fitted with equipment known as ADS-B or Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. This technology will be able to give pilots and controllers real time position of where the aircraft is and also what other traffic are doing. The idea the FAA has is that by January 1, 2020 every aircraft must be equipped or retro fitted for ADS-B to fly so it gives the airlines and corporate companies time to get this done. The problem that the aviation industry faces today is the ever looming issue of ATC privatization.
For some people working in the airlines, this is a great idea because what privatizing ATC will do is produce new technology for their operations and reducing costs. General aviation however disagrees with this statement. On the other hand giving the government full control of air traffic will make user fees into certain airports and the economy could fall back into another recession. Yes there are some countries like Canada, the UK, France, Germany and other countries that use this privatization and some of their ideas could leak over into the United States but on the other hand there's a lot more traffic that goes on that it could harm us in the long run. The NBAA's position on this topic would be that the airlines would be in charge of the privatization to business aviation while the lobbying group Airlines 4 America is all for this idea according to Ernest S. Arvai's Privatiziation of ATC-The Pros and Cons.
As said before, countries like Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand already work off of this idea of privatization. It works in these countries because they include fees to international flights while we in the US don't charge companies like Ethiad, British Airways, Luftansa and many others. The private operators however is just painful. Garrett Fisher for example took a flight in Spain who's also approved the idea of privatization and he describes the experience as "nonsense". He also goes on and says "I waited 30 minutes in the sweltering heat, for which a fuel truck arrived at stand 13. After 15 minutes of filling out paperwork, I received fuel, and then had to wait another 15 minutes to complete payment: $14.26/gallon, and it took 90 minutes in the baking heat for this nonsense" (Fisher, 2017). Just by this description of how Spain runs their air traffic control system it seems like this privatization just adds more unnecessary steps in which flying should be an experience everyone should enjoy.
To convert our current system into a privatized system, we as people would have to create a bill and send it to Washington D.C. where it can go through Congress and the House of Representatives. Once the bill passes those two places, then it goes to the President where if he agrees to the bill it then gets his signature to become law. All of these steps have to be an act of Congress meaning that the FAA cannot make the decision on their own. I expect the current administration to impact ATC privatization in some way but because the idea has been in talks for decades, its been brought up so many times that it was either put on hold or just forgotten until a later date.
Personally, I feel that even though it could bring some positives towards the airline side its really not a good idea for us to have this privatization. The United States has so much more traffic that happens compared to the other countries stated that do have this and privatizing our ATC will just only complicate it. It could also put the General Aviation side out of business because of how many fees could be attached like from talking to a controller to even landing at a certain airport.
Refrences
Freudenrich, C. (2018, March 08). How Air Traffic Control Works. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm
FAA. (2017, December 04). How NextGen Works. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/how_nextgen_works/
Arvai, E. S. (2017, August 30). Privatization of ATC - The Pros and Cons » AirInsight. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.airinsight.com/privatization-atc-pros-cons/
Fisher, G. (2017, August 10). Europe: The Case Against ATC Privatization. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://blog.aopa.org/aopa/2017/08/10/europe-the-case-against-atc-privatization/
What a great post!! I learned so much and appreciate your in-depth discussion and take on the matter. I found it interesting to read about the situation that happened in Spain, and all the additional yet unnecessary steps that came with privatizing. Do you think it’s that way everywhere, or do other companies have better handles over their procedures? You make a great point in your blog post: just because other countries have been “successful” at privatizing, it doesn’t necessarily mean we would with our increased air traffic along with other factors.
ReplyDeleteVery Straight to the point post. We kind of are the same, not knowing where we exactly stand on the issue. My research indicated that the United States' traffic cannot be compared to any other country. ATC privatization would mean new technology... NextGen. With NextGen comes ADS-B installment that cost around $6,000 and some general aviation aircrafts are worth like what? $16,000. The financial aspect to GA would be very tricky. I think both sides of the industry are important, GA and airlines, and a middle ground should be reached.
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