Since January, Airlines for America (A4A) has spent $1.6 million on lobbying efforts to push for the privatization of air traffic control and separate it from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to disclosure forms.
A4R, which represents all major U.S. carriers except Delta, advocates for a not-for-profit, independent air traffic control (ATC) organization.
The A4R sees the move as "the best way to remove politics from ATC services and to keep our system on track to meet the growing demand for air travel," according to a news release, but democrats in Senate said the plan would give a private corporation the power to tax the public.
"Air traffic control privatization is just not going to happen,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said on the Senate floor earlier this month according to The Hill. “I've made myself very, very clear."
When the proposal was first presented in February Rep. Peter DeFazio agree with this same sentiment.
"A simple wand of privatization is not a solution to all our problems,” DeFazio said.
The A4R is pushing for "modernization" and another FAA decision to change air traffic controller hiring process this year was met with criticism from the organization.
The revamped air traffic control hiring process would add a "Biographical Questionnaire" to gage risk tolerance, dependability, cooperation, stress tolerance and other traits among applicants.
FAA officials said the change was designed to broaden the applicant pool, but critics, like A4R, say the test puts candidates with no experience and graduates of aviation programs at the same level.
