The Air Traffic Control (atc) System in the United States Should Be Privatized

THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED

PERSUASIVE ESSAY

TITLE: THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES

SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED

This paper is to persuade the reader as to the benefits of the privatization of air traffic

Control system within the United States. The debate over privatization of the air traffic

Control system has become a worldwide trend that has gained popularity over the years.

As many other proponents, I argue that the competition of the private sector would allow

companies to provide services more efficiently while reducing costs. However,

privatization will never erase the failures of the Federal Aviation Administration or

improve safety, increase capacity and reduce costs, as is evidenced by what is occurring

in many countries that now have privatized air traffic control systems. What is truly?

needed in a time of budget constraints and pressure for improved government operations

is a mixture of privatization and government controls operating as one eternity.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Title Page i

Abstract ii

Table of Contents iii

I. White House Policy 1

II. How to Commercialize ATC 4

III. Conclusion 7

Reference 8

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WHITE HOUSE POLICY

A December 2000 White House paper on the privatization of air traffic control by

the then Clinton Administration argued that although the "Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) which oversees the largest, busiest and most complex aviation system in the world

with its staff of 49,000 controllers operate and maintain our nation's air traffic system,

orchestrating the take-off, landing and routing of 93,000 aircraft a day." NATCA

Homepage, 2002. That the FAA had too much on its plate with regulating aviation safety

and security, and the air traffic system itself. Thus concluding that our air transportation

system is not as efficient as it could be. "To the credit of the FAA, our nation's safety

record for air travel is exceptional. You could fly commercially every day for 22,000

years and not lose your life in an accident. Between July 1997 and June 1999, not a

single life was lost in the crash of a scheduled U.S. airliner. Moreover, the U.S. has

achieved this safety record while experiencing the enormous growth in air travel. Since

1978, when airline deregulation ended the federal government's role in setting prices and

limiting capacity, daily departures have doubled, and the number of passengers has gone up

by 250 percent. In 2000 U.S. airlines transported 694 million passengers on 13 million

flights. Yet our air transportation system is not as efficient as it could be. The growing

volume of air traffic, is straining the limits of the FAA's air traffic infrastructure as well as

key airports' runway capacity. According to the FAA, flight delays have increased by more

than 58 percent since 1995, cancellations by 68 percent, contributing to widespread

passenger frustration and anger. The Air Transport Association estimates the cost to

airlines and passengers at more than $5 billion per year. Moreover, delays are almost

certain to increase, primarily because of traffic growth. The FAA predicts a 60 percent

increase in the number of passengers and a doubling of cargo volume by 2010, resulting in

a 25 percent increase in aircraft operations." NATCA Homepage, 2002

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"The FAA's effort to modernize its air traffic system technology has not kept pace

with either the emergences of new hardware or the growing demand for air travel. Despite

significant improvements in recent years, some modernization projects are delayed and

over-budget. Moreover, in part because of federal budget regarding agency borrowing, the

FAA has not always had all of the funds needed for long-term capital investments and

research and development. If flight delays and out-of-date technology are the symptoms,

one of the key underlying problems is that the FAA is currently not structured to manage

the delivery of a high technology service such as air traffic. The air traffic system operates

24 hours a day, 365 days a year and an entire industry depends on the air traffic system for

it's